Where There's Fire …
by Deck Divination
Summary: Jack and Yusei have brought their new-found relationship from Nazca to Neo Domino City. Between friends, enemies, rivalry, and ambition, can their love survive the WRGP and last into the future? Sequel to Satisfaction. Canon-based: SPOILERS. Jack x Yusei.
1. Homecoming

**Author's Notes**

This story is a sequel to _Satisfaction_. For more about this, see Author's notes.

This story is based on the Japanese anime.

It is yaoi.

The usual disclaimers apply.

**1. Homecoming**

Jack and Yusei had repacked their few belongings in just a few minutes. Yusei scanned their room carefully in case they had missed anything.

_Missed anything …_

He hadn't missed anything, not yet, but he was going to. The entire room smelled like Jack … like the two of them together … like their time together. The trip back from Nazca had almost been like some kind of romantic getaway cruise. And he was about to set that aside for awhile.

He sighed. Neo Domino City was just minutes away now. As he headed toward the door, Jack pulled Yusei into a lingering kiss, wrapping his arms tightly around his new lover. When he finally pulled away, he asked, "Are you absolutely sure that you want to wait to tell people about this?"

"Yes … at least … at least until Yliaster is …"

"Yusei … You know that … I might have my own plans for … after."

_Still._

"I know."

_You wouldn't tell me about them, either, would you, Jack?_

Even now.

Yusei sighed again, then went on. "You know why I want to wait."

"Crow." Jack frowned. "Crow's a big boy … so to speak. Even if he does feel the way you say—and I doubt it—he can handle it."

_I love Jack too._

The look on Crow's face … springing this on him … now, with all the additional stress. It would be unforgivable. How could he throw his own happiness into the face of Crow's pain?

"But Crow … We each have a new ace. We have … each other. He doesn't. With the WRGP, Yliaster …" Yusei tried to put himself into Crow's shoes, think how he would feel if it were he, watching Jack and Crow together, if it were Crow who had the advantage of Accel Synchro. "I … I just don't see how I can do it."

"And I don't want to live a lie … I did it before and I never … _never_ … want to do it again." He put his gloved hand behind Yusei's head to ensure that cobalt blue met violet. "You don't know what you're asking."

"I'm not asking you to lie. I'm asking you to wait. For Crow."

But the pain in Jack's face clearly said he didn't see it that way.

"Fine. Don't complain when you need something you're not getting."

Jack grabbed his bag, turned on his heel, and strutted out.

_Man, he looks fine from behind_, Yusei thought, admiring the view for a lingering moment before he shouldered his own bag and followed.

The man had a point.

* * *

With Aki and the kids at school, the welcoming committee was much smaller than the farewell party had been. Stephanie couldn't get off work, but Carly, Mikage, Crow, Bruno, Sherry, and Kazama all showed. After much welcoming, Crow asked eagerly, "Well? Was the trip worth it?"

Yusei said, "Jack, what would you say?"

"Oh …" he pulled out his extra deck, fanned it, and pulled out a card. "Does this answer your question?"

Crow let out a low whistle. "Scar Red Nova Dragon? What is that?"

Jack smiled proudly. "It's a symbol of my new way of fighting. An evolution!"

The others crowded around to see it, especially Sherry and Kazama. Carly couldn't take her eyes off of Jack.

"How in the … how did you get it?" asked Crow.

"You should have seen him. He was—" Yusei began, but Jack looked at him sharply.

"I dueled for it, that's all," he said simply.

It was weird that a man who liked to brag as much as Jack didn't want to expound on such an exploit, Yusei thought, but … was it because this one cut so deeply? The others, distracted by the card, didn't even seem to notice how out of character it was for Jack.

Not for the first time, Yusei was glad that he had been there. Even if Jack would let him relate the details, it couldn't compare with being there. Someday, perhaps, he'd spill it to Crow in secret. He didn't know if he wanted to relate what Bommer had told him about the legendary Signer, though. Right now, jealously, there were parts of Jack that he just wanted to keep to himself. He glanced at Carly, who looked like she was dying to know. He couldn't help but feel for her.

She might have had him, too, had things turned out differently. He shivered.

"You all right?" Carly asked.

"Yeah, fine," he said. He wondered how Carly managed to spare him any attention with Jack here after such a long absence. A guilty tremor shot through his body. How was she going to feel when she found out? How was Aki going to feel? Somehow he was going to have to ease Aki down. But he'd made his decision. It wasn't as though Aki hadn't suspected that things were changing even before this all happened, anyway.

* * *

Yusei, Jack, Crow, and Bruno pulled into Poppo Time at last. Yusei looked around, marveling at how strange the place looked after a couple of weeks. He sighed and said, "I'm going to want to give our D-wheels a thorough tune-up, Jack … and check yours over too, Crow. We want to be ready for this."

"Sounds good," said Jack, slinging his dufflebag over his shoulder.

He and Jack headed up the stairs.

Yusei felt very strange heading to a different room than Jack and a weird awkwardness seemed to settle in between them. Yusei was a little glad that neither Crow nor Bruno had decided to come up with them just then.

"Well, then," Jack said.

"Yeah."

"I guess … I guess it'll … until …"

"Until we can."

"Until then."

Jack went into his room and closed the door.

Yusei did likewise, tossing his dufflebag on a chair and himself on the bed. He didn't feel like unpacking and he didn't want to talk to Crow or Bruno … or even Jack right now. He didn't even want to work. Not yet.

His idling thoughts wandered back to Jack. _Is he thinking about me? What is he doing? Is he unpacking? Or is he …?_

Was he so bad off that he was already thinking like this? He was obsessed with Jack before, but now … He couldn't even unpack without wanting to mess up the promise he made to himself about Crow.

But just the knowledge that he was going to be deprived of physical closeness with Jack—even though it was his own decision—made him want it all the more. He sighed. It looked like he had a lot of sexual frustration to look forward to.

* * *

**Author's notes:**

11/11/12: Revised to remove notes about this story being on hold now that it's actively posting again; added info to aid in locating _Satisfaction_.

This is the sequel to _Satisfaction _(at fanfiction, link /s/7586624/1/Satisfaction or check my profile). You're welcome to read this story without reading _Satisfaction_ first, but I think the experience would be better if you have the background (even this first chapter alludes to it). _Satisfaction_ tells a story close to canon but with a between-the-lines addition of how love might develop between Jack and Yusei. As you might guess, this story picks up shortly after they finally get together on the trip to Nazca.

**_As of November 2012, this story is now actively posting again! _**Research for this story has been completed.**  
**

_And he was about to set that aside for awhile_: I know what you're thinking! How could I? But the fact is, they aren't exactly cohabiting in canon, and this allows the relative fun of working in stolen kisses.

_I love Jack too ... The look on Crow's face_: In Satisfaction, the look on Crow's face when Yusei said "I love Jack too." Yusei suspects that Crow has a crush on Jack.

Preview of chapter 2:

Good question. I'm still working out the order of chapters, so I'm not sure quite yet what exactly will be in chapter 2.


	2. Adjustments

**Warnings:** Spoilers, sexual references and mucho tension.

**Important notes:** 1) This story adheres closely to canon and includes _**major spoilers** _for both the Japanese-only and 4Kids story arcs. If you do not want to be spoiled, view the anime before reading this story.

2) This story is no longer on hold and is now actively posting again.

* * *

**2. Adjustments**

A few days later, Yusei was elbows deep in D-wheel guts, trying to get their D-wheels tuned up and ready for racing again. Nazca certainly didn't do machinery any favors.

Neo Domino City itself was still recovering from the Diablo attack. The damage was ridiculous, so it was still going to take a few weeks before repairs to the route for the WRGP would be completely repaired. In a way, that was good because it allowed Yusei more time to work on his tune-up project, which ultimately turned into an upgrade project. The downside, of course, was it delayed things between him and Jack even longer.

The one thing about putting his mind on D-wheels and dueling, though, it got it off of Jack and … other things—at least some of the time.

When Jack walked by and looked at him out of the corner of his eye it was harder to concentrate.

And it was hard for Yusei to fathom what was on Jack's mind. He didn't think about it when he was working, but late at night when he was lying in bed trying to unwind and get some rest, it seemed like he could think about nothing else.

Was Jack thinking about him? What did he do when he disappeared during the day? He agreed to Yusei's plan, but was he angry about it? He hated the uncertainty.

And then there were the thoughts of Jack alone in his room, in bed asleep … or not …

Sometimes it was really hard not to think about that.

After about a week of this, he finally relented and slipped a note into Jack's glove.

* * *

Yusei scanned the area in the alley behind Poppo Time carefully for prying eyes, then slipped between two stacks of wooden pallets. A white-gloved hand reached out from a carefully-concealed area behind them and pulled him the rest of the way in. This was followed by a searing kiss, another gloved hand tangling itself in his hair.

"Jack—" Yusei gasped when he finally pulled away.

"So. Yusei. Why did you have me meet you here? Do you just want to kiss, or have you found a place where we can have some privacy for a little while? Or—?"

"I just … just wanted to be with you for a few minutes … alone." He grasped Jack's lapels firmly and pulled him down into a renewed kiss. Jack let it linger for a few minutes. But when Yusei's hand wandered to Jack's waist, he flinched and grasped Yusei's wrist gently.

"You know that we can't do anything here," he said. "I'm not getting caught in an alleyway like a teenager—"

"C'mon, Jack, you're maybe 21 at the most—"

"Whatever. I'm not ashamed of anything I do with you. If you want to postpone telling people about this, you can either wait or find us a reasonable location. You didn't actually want …"

"No, I … just wanted to be with you … alone … for a few minutes." But he felt the color rise to his cheeks.

"Are you sure?"

_Was he?_ He looked at Jack. Jack was so carefully ensuring that Yusei not go too far … had he been hoping to push Jack over the edge? Once he had gotten Jack past any worry of hurting him, Yusei had found that Jack was an extremely passionate lover. He seemed nearly insatiable and eager to please once started and Yusei found it exceedingly easy to push him to a point where he couldn't seem to stop himself. This combustibility seemed yet another facet of Jack's fiery personality, one which Yusei found to be a huge turn-on. Had he been hoping to place Jack in a situation where he'd be carried away and worry about regrets later?

He sighed. "Maybe … maybe I was hoping we'd forget ourselves. Jack, I'm sorry. I shouldn't take advantage of you."

It was so important to Jack to be able to control himself, but it was actually a lot easier for Yusei. Jack was all fire inside, but Yusei was intellectual, cool by nature. He always thought things through, whereas Jack was naturally instinctual. The mask that he wore might be second nature now, but it was only through dedicated practice.

"It's all right," he said. "I want this at least as badly as you do. But … I don't see why we can't just go inside and do what we want to. You're not doing Crow any favors, believe me." He pulled Yusei by his wrist into the deepest kiss yet. When he finally released him, Jack said, "You'd better get back before they send out a search party. You've been way too long. Here's your McGuffin." He handed Yusei the item he'd come for as pretext.

"Huh? Oh, right. Thanks."

Yusei slipped out between the pallets just in time to see Bruno rounding the corner. "I thought I'd help you—are you OK? You look winded."

"Uh, yeah. This part apparently fell behind some pallets and I had to re-stack them." _Fell behind some pallets into Jack's pocket …_ He imagined Jack stifling laughter behind the pallets and almost cringed. He guessed it served him right. "Let's go. I guess I've wasted enough time."

No doubt Jack would agree.

* * *

A few days later, Jack strode into Poppo Time and scanned the room. Bruno was typing away on the computer and Yusei was busy working on the Wheel of Fortune.

Jack sighed. _Things are getting a little pathetic if I'm getting jealous of my own D-wheel because Yusei's touching it more than me!_

He sighed again and sat on the Wheel of Fortune, stretching his legs a little. "Hi Yusei. How's the tune-up going?" Jack could barely listen to the answer Yusei gave him, but he continued talking about his progress, Yliaster, the competition … talk as small as he could manage, when somewhere along the line, Yusei gave him a look so full of pure desire that it was almost feral in its raw intensity.

"Yusei …?" asked Jack.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I messed up this connection," Yusei said, quickly, untightening a bolt. "Guess I got too involved in our conversation."

"I guess I distracted you too much. I … I have things I need to be doing anyway," Jack said, getting up. But he didn't retreat quickly. _If this is tough on you_, Jack thought, _so be it. This torment wasn't my idea. Take a good look at what you're missing out on_.

He deliberately slowed his usual pace as he walked over to the stairs and climbed them to his room.

Jack threw himself on his bed and turned over so that he could see the wall opposite the windows. In this way, he could see the lights from the street move across the wall in both directions as the traffic passed by. Once he had mentioned how he had enjoyed doing this to Yusei and several days later he had thrown open the curtains to the upper tier of windows to find that Yusei had surreptitiously picked the lock to his room and changed out the windows. The light passing through them now had a special prismatic quality, and splashed across the room with rainbow effects.

He couldn't watch the show without thinking of Yusei.

Hell, these days he couldn't do anything without thinking of Yusei.

He'd always experienced a certain amount of sexual pressure. Previously, he'd just considered it a distraction from more important things. Dealing with it by himself when he was on his own had never been a problem. But … now that he and Yusei had … bonded … he didn't want to accept a substitute any longer.

The pressure seemed to build more quickly, and, without Yusei to help him relieve it, it never seemed to completely dissipate. Judging by his expression, Yusei was feeling a similar frustration, not that it solved his own predicament.

He allowed himself a rueful smile. At least Yusei was suffering the consequences of his kindness toward Crow. That expression … Jack's smile broadened a little. It was nice to know that his effect on Yusei was at least as strong as the one that Yusei had on him. But that didn't help his own situation.

In fact … seeing Yusei's reaction only made him more uncomfortable.

He turned to his back and allowed himself to savor the sensation of desire.

Having Yusei felt so good … losing him had left such a hole in his life. It had not only ruined his happiness, but everything had suffered, his dueling not least of all.

Finally he was finding his game again. And, while Yusei wasn't the cause of it—he was sure of that—it never would have happened if they hadn't mended their friendship. He never could have done it if he hadn't fought for what was most precious: his friends. His … Yusei.

But … he had worked so hard to be independent.

This constant desire to be with Yusei, this need to know what he was doing, all this wondering about what he was thinking, was an unnecessary distraction from his dueling—his goals. But more than that, he hated the feeling of having to rely on someone else for anything.

It wasn't just sex: that was simply the surface of an ocean. Yusei's love for him satisfied some need that was every bit as basic as Jack's need for independence. But the two drives were so incompatible that Jack felt that he was being torn in half.

He'd always known what he wanted, what his goal was: To become the best duelist on the face of the planet. The King. It was that simple. But Yusei had his own goals, didn't he? Jack closed his eyes. And Yusei's goal wasn't to tag along with Jack or to be a member of Jack's entourage, was it? Jack didn't want to duel on a team after 5D's and he expected that if Yusei wanted to duel, he'd want to go solo, too. He was good enough. But he probably didn't even want to duel at all. He wanted to be a scientist, right? He want to settle down and stick in Neo Domino. Indefinitely.

Jack sighed.

_I'm not going to stick around with you, Yusei. I … I just can't. Don't ask me to._

_It's not that I don't love you, because I do. More than you know. It's just that … _

_It would kill me._

He rolled over, burying his face in his pillow for a minute, eyes tightly shut. It was strange. He felt tears closer than they'd been since he could remember, but even so … he was far from letting them out.

Still … the emotions he felt competing within him were causing him literal pain. A hard lump had formed in his throat and he could feel the muscles in his chest constricting.

Suddenly Jack found himself on his feet, frustrated and a little angry. He grabbed his coat and quickly strode downstairs and through the garage. He suppressed a growl that Yusei was still working on the Wheel of Fortune, but managed somehow to pretend that he didn't notice as he swept through the large space.

Jack had an impression of Yusei's head snapping in surprise as he passed. "Jack, you're leaving already? Didn't you just get here?"

But Jack was already through the door. He would keep moving until he could barely move at all.

* * *

Yusei had looked up, trying to catch sight of Jack as he swept through the open space of the garage, but it was too late. Jack was gone.

He sighed, turning back to the Wheel of Fortune. _How strange that Bruno loves this machine so much—perhaps even more than the other D-wheels—and yet seems to have so little in common with its owner_. Jack was so impatient with Bruno still and sometimes snapped at his efforts to please. Yusei didn't know if it was simply a matter that they still couldn't account for his appearance out of nowhere—Jack refused to completely drop his suspicions—or sheer jealousy over his ability to so quickly insert himself into their group and, especially, form so tight a bond with Yusei. Crow certainly leaned toward the latter explanation.

Yusei wasn't so sure. He depended on Jack's instincts … but his instincts told him to trust Bruno. He glanced up at the man for a moment and received a warm smile in return. "Something you need?"

"Uh, no. I was just thinking about the WRGP and what we need to do to prepare." In general, that was true. He needed Jack to be in the right frame of mind and he wondered if he was moving him off target by trying to get their machines back in top shape. Looking back at his work, he growled softly.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't concentrate on this all of a sudden."

"You've been working on it since dawn, so no wonder. Why don't you take a break?"

"You've been working just as long."

"I took a long break around noon, don't you remember?"

"Fine." Yusei stood and stretched. Casually, he walked out the door and looked out toward the cafe. Jack wasn't there. Figures. These days it was hard to talk to Jack. They were too close now to talk about trivial things and they couldn't talk about the things they needed to. They couldn't do the things they wanted to.

_And whose fault is that?_ thought Yusei morosely. _It was my choice_.

He still thought it was the right choice for their friends during this situation, but … sometimes it was just difficult to keep their heads in the game.

If only the WRGP were starting more quickly.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Gee, guys, sorry for the wait! You wouldn't believe how hard I've been working on this thing for as slowly as it's been coming along. I'm hoping that it will be a fun read, but since it follows the anime so closely, it's going to be difficult for me to tell, especially as we go along and I have to adhere to events more closely. I've got this mostly fleshed out, but I have a lot of polishing yet to do. I'm a little concerned that this beginning part will feel a little choppy and disconnected, but we'll see how it goes. Let me know!

This chapter is heavy on exposition, which I apologize for, but I just don't see Jack running out and pouring his concerns out to a third party, so ... you're stuck with my lengthy descriptive passages. Sorry about that.

_you're maybe 21 at the most_: This is actually a rough and pretty conservative estimate based on probable ages, known events, and estimated times (for the bridge and duel infrastructure to be built, etc). It's actually on the young side.

_Once he had gotten Jack past any worry of hurting him_: See _Satisfaction_, chapter 28.

_Bruno loves this machine so much_: The Wheel of Fortune is the D-wheel that distracted Bruno from his initial dinner date to meet with 5D's.

_Jack refused to completely drop his suspicions_: This is based on Jack's continuing lack of simpatico with Bruno.

And now, about that preview!

_"I wouldn't have believed it," Crow groused as they walked in the door._

_"Yeah," said Yusei. "I can't believe that Jaeger slipped us again!"_

_"Not that! I can't believe that he's even crazier about cup ramen than Jack!"_

5D's pursues Jaeger, then investigates ME. It's touch and go!


	3. Moment

****warnings: spoilers

**3. Moment**

One of Jack's first orders of business after getting home was replenishing the ramen supply. Not only that, he'd heard that there was a new variety of sweet red bean ramen out that was particularly highly rated. As it happened, that put them on a collision course with Jaeger.

"I wouldn't have believed it," Crow groused as they walked in the door.

"Yeah," said Yusei. "I can't believe that Jaeger slipped us again!"

"Not that! I can't believe that he's even crazier about cup ramen than Jack!"

Jack trailed in, still livid, gripping a single ramen cup. "I'm not that bad!"

"Oh, yes you are! Look at you. You're still hanging on to that thing with a death grip."

Jack scowled. "Only because that granny didn't stick around long enough for us to give it back to her. And it's free, Crow, so don't be ridiculous about it."

"What are you talking about?" It was Aki, who was already there with the twins.

"You're … here?"

"Yes. Ms Zima let us in because you were late getting back. But never mind that. What in the heck is going on and why are you so late?"

Yusei quickly related the story and they all had to put up with the derision of the three over their failure to reel in the slippery clown.

"Hey, you try it," suggested Crow. "Then let me know how easy it is."

"Why don't we stop kicking the events of the day around and come up with a plan?" said Yusei.

"Yes, this cup ramen thief must be stopped!" said Jack.

"We need his information about Yliaster."

"Right. We must get this man's information about Yliaster!" Jack frowned for a second. "That doesn't sound nearly as good."

"But what do we do? We have no idea where to look," complained Crow.

"No, but getting him is easy. All we have to do is lay a trap," said Jack. He put on a conspiratorial expression as he began to lay out his plan.

* * *

As they started putting the pieces of the plan together, Yusei arranged to help Jack while the twins and Aki helped Crow with his costume. Bruno was working on the technical aspects of the show, which would be minor. "You're sure this will work?" Yusei asked.

"Of course it will," Jack said as they climbed the stairs to his room. "Anyone who's a true cup ramen aficionado and duelist couldn't possibly pass up this opportunity. And, from what Crow says, Jaeger doesn't shrink from a challenge."

Jack opened the door to his room and the two entered. Yusei was immediately flooded with an awareness of Jack's presence, which he found more than a little distracting. "Well, it is the only chance we have … I hope he shows."

Yusei had seldom been in Jack's room.

He looked around, trying not to be too obvious. Jack had only brought along the things from his pampered life as Godwin's pet duelist that were most important to him or that he most needed: his favorite couch, his bed, his clothing and jewelry. But what really got to Yusei was that the whole room smelled like Jack.

Jack favored him with a rare grin. "I know he will."

It was the confident grin that did it. Jack was turning toward his closet door, but Yusei grabbed his arms and pulled him into an embrace, kissing those smiling lips.

Jack eagerly returned the kiss for a long moment, then pulled away to take a breath. "Yusei … if we start something, it's going to take a while, and someone is going to come looking for us. Do you want …"

… _everyone to find out by catching us in flagrante?_

"Uh … I guess not," he admitted, blushing.

Jack put on his most devastating smile and said, "Not that I'm unwilling, mind you." As Yusei attempted to recover from that, Jack opened his closet door, revealing many duplicates of his riding jumpsuit, several duplicates of his trademark coat, many pairs of boots, various other clothing, and a huge cache of boxes of cup ramen.

"So this is why you insisted on having this room!" Yusei exclaimed. This was the bedroom with the largest closet by far.

Jack scowled. "It's also directly across from the bathroom. I'm no fool."

Yusei snickered. Jack spent the most time there ensuring that he looked his best, for sure.

"Don't laugh. I've seen you look at me. You like the way I look. So don't sneer when I spend time ensuring that I look as good as I possibly can. Just remember that I'm doing it partly to impress you."

_Really? Me?_

He found himself staring at Jack's handsome face to the point that it started to pinken a little. "Uh … let's get some of this Red Demon's Ramen downstairs before they wonder what happened to us," he said.

"Huh, yeah, right."

They carried several of the boxes down so that they could use them for bait purposes.

Crow snapped his head around. "Hey, where'd you get that?!"

"I'm saving this for special occasions!" Jack protested. "You don't wouldn't believe how hard I had to work for that!"

"Those are freebies!"

"You have to work very hard to get into the position to get these so-called freebies! I _earned_ these! Talk to me when you're the King!"

"Now, Jack …"

"This is his idea," grumbled Crow. "Why do I have to wear this stupid costume …?"

"Oh is _that_ it?" asked Yusei. "You lost at roshambo, remember? Jack and I were willing enough to do it. Are you telling us that you're a poor loser?"

"I'm a better loser than Jack!"

"Probably because you have a lot more practice," Jack said. And then, just for emphasis, he added, "A lot."

"Jack, please. We want to get this show on the road by tomorrow, remember?" but Yusei couldn't quite suppress a smile. This reminded him too much of some of their childhood escapades. Wild plots, roshambo, and Jack bestowing cup ramen like prizes to those who best pleased him?

Yeah, just like when they were kids.

* * *

After it was all over, 5D's sat around their kitchenette table, pulling in as many extra chairs from around the house as they could find. Sherry had joined them to help them plan their next move and Jaeger was in the process of bringing in a few things from his hideout with plans to crash with them until he decided what to do.

"Well, that was disappointing," said Crow.

"What do you mean?" asked Jack. "We can make sure that he doesn't steal cup ramen this way. I'm going to keep a close eye on him to make certain of it!"

"Yliaster, Stupid! We found out almost nothing about Yliaster!"

"_Riiiight_ … and that mistake in your duel was just a mistake."

"Are you saying that I wanted to lose?"

"I'm saying there was a sad kid watching, Softy."

"It turned out OK, though. Jaeger's family is at Martha's and he's agreed to help … for all the good it's doing us. It's not like he knows much."

"No … we got at least a lead out of all this effort," said Yusei. "Now we have to decide what to do with it. We need to investigate ME."

"Good. We'll go tomorrow," Jack said.

"Jack … you can't, I'm sorry," Yusei said. "We need three people to sneak into ME, one to do the D-wheel test drive, and two to man the computers and hack in. Everyone knows who you are, and you'd be the one doing the D-wheel testing. You couldn't possibly man the computers."

Jack frowned, crossing his arms. "Fine then. I see your point."

"I'm going, and that's final," announced Sherry. "This is what I've been working for since before you even got involved."

"Good. And Bruno will be our third. The rest of you … I'm afraid that the rest of you will have to find things to do here. Just give us moral support."

* * *

The next day, as the three investigated, Jack sat serenely drinking his coffee as the others busily distracted themselves with cleaning tasks around him. Suddenly, everything began to go haywire. Jaeger began things by complaining that he was having a bad hair day and remarked to Jack that he had a bad feeling about Yusei's plans.

"Oh, please!" Jack insisted. "Omens, bah! Yusei's going to be just fine."

Crow, who was fixing breakfast, piped up, "Damn, my earring just fell out. How'd that happen?"

"See?" Jaeger said.

"Stupid," Jack said, lifting his cup. But his motion was halted by a crash.

"Sorry!" Ruka called apologetically, looking at the broken vase on the floor.

"That's OK," said Rua. "It's only a vase."

"This has—" but whatever Jack was going to say was interrupted when the handle broke away from his coffee mug, spilling the hot liquid all over his lap. As he abruptly stood in scalding pain, he wondered abstractly if there might be a little something to this omen thing.

Jack walked to the window and looked out.

_Yusei …_

He looked to the side. He realized that Aki was looking out the window with virtually the same expression on her face. He blushed a little and turned away, trudging up the stairs to change his pants. _At least she didn't look my way_ …

When he returned to the common area, he busied himself with making more coffee, noting the deafening silence of the surroundings. He pretended that he didn't notice the eyes of Ruka and Rua on him and tried to look completely calm. All the while, he focused on his sign, willing himself to connect somehow through it to Yusei, to figure out if he was all right. But, for once, there was nothing.

_This had to mean that he would be OK, right?_

_Right?_

He told himself that, over and over … but the uncertainty was killing him.

As he returned to his chair, his sign suddenly activated. Looking around, he saw that it was the same for everyone else. Crow, Aki, Ruka, all had suddenly stopped, and a red glow formed around them. Immediately, the strangest sensation flowed through the room. It was as though a wave of … of _something_ … passed through … _everything_. Everything not protected by the power of the Crimson Dragon, that is. Rua and Jaeger, who were standing nearby, were also unaffected by this … whatever it was. The strangeness of it was overwhelming, as though everything was transformed completely by an ineffable _wrongness_ that made everything different in some bizarre and fundamental way.

"D-did you feel that?" asked Crow. "What the hell was it?"

"I-I don't know," said Jack. But there was a compelling feeling in his arm, exactly where his sign was. "I … I need to go …" he said, running out of the garage into the street. It was as though his sign was _pulling_ him.

"Wait …!" called Aki, running after him. "I feel the same way."

But Jack couldn't help himself and kept running down the street, turned a corner … _Yes_ … He knew where he was going to end up. The large, open dock area. He found himself stopped there, looking over the bay, catching his breath and wondering what the heck he was waiting for as the others caught up.

Just then, a shuttle appeared in the sky and splashed down. To their amazement, when it opened, Yusei and Bruno stepped out.

But Sherry was … missing.

It was a lot to take in.

The group tried to absorb all this. "Do … do you think that our signs brought us here to find you?" asked Aki.

"No," said Jack. "I … I think it was to see _that_," he said, pointing over Yusei's shoulder.

It was … something like a city, but upside down, an island in the sky, a twisted, blackened thing, mocking and challenging them. Impending doom.

"What? I can't see anything," said Rua, squinting in the direction Jack was pointing.

"Maybe you have to be a signer to see it," said Yusei, looking out in the direction Jack was pointing. "… I saw that before. When we were in a different dimension on the shuttle. It's … it's the Final Moment."

* * *

Later, after Jaeger had decided to return to his job as interim Director of the Public Maintenance Bureau and they'd told Mizoguchi about Sherry, Yusei took off. Jack, noticing Yusei's mood, followed in the Wheel of Fortune, and found him not far from where he'd landed in the shuttle.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

They sat in silence, side by side on their D-wheels, for some time, watching the shadows enter the sky.

At last, Yusei said, "Thanks, Jack."

"What for? I'm being selfish. This is the first time in a little while that I've had a chance to just hang around with you."

Yusei smiled ruefully. "No … thanks for not pressing. You're the only one who doesn't ask me what's wrong."

"I figure if you're ready to tell me, you'll say something. You always do."

"_You_ don't. Not always."

"That's because you're one of those fixers. You'll always be there to poke and prod or torture it out of me … eventually." Jack shot Yusei a small grin. "It's OK."

They returned to silence for a few minutes, then Yusei said, "Jack, I saw him again, in that other dimension. When I saw that … weird island thing. My father. He was there."

"Really?! What did he say?"

"He said it that it was coming. This thing, it was the 'Final Moment.' It means our destruction."

"Yes," said Jack. "You said something about that before. He frowned. "Does that mean … that it has something to do with Momentum?"

Now Yusei frowned. "I … I think so. But … I'm not sure what it means … or how it's coming. It … it's just …"

"It's bad news."

Yusei smiled. "You really know how to reduce something to its simplest terms."

"I'm a genius."

"A savant, Jack." He cast Jack a serious look. "After today …"

"Can't we just …"

"I still want to …"

"Crow." Jack frowned.

"Jack, he's our friend. I know you don't believe it, but I know that he has feelings for you. I need to respect his feelings. While we're in the tournament, living together like this, I can't just …"

"I get it. That doesn't mean that I have to like it. And, frankly, I still wonder if you're not just imagining things. But I respect _your_ feelings, Yusei."

"There has to be some place we can have a little privacy … just for tonight." Yusei looked at Jack longingly. "Today … I was afraid I might never get back to you."

Jack scowled. "Like waiting for _you_ was a picnic." His hands tightened into fists with the effort of maintaining his distance. "Why can't we just …"

"After," Yusei said firmly.

Jack's scowl deepened, and he growled. Suddenly, he revved his Momentum and pulled his feet into the Wheel of Fortune, turning the bike and taking off down the water's edge.

Yusei shrugged and followed him, curious. As the road lifted, pulled out of Neo Domino proper, and began to wind around the cliffs, Yusei began to wonder whether Jack meant to challenge him to a duel, but then he realized that they were nearing the location where Jack's D-wheel had crashed when he'd dueled his impostor. Up ahead, Jack took an off-ramp and Yusei followed.

The two pulled their D-wheels off of a gravel road onto a pebbly strand.

"I never found the cave where I was imprisoned, but there are a number of caves around here," Jack said. He frowned. "I don't like this. We could be discovered by any random beachcomber."

"Jack … it's romantic."

They walked a while, watching the sunset colors fill the sky, looking for a suitably secluded cave. "This is the one I was thinking of," Jack said, finally, pushing his D-wheel in, so it wouldn't be noticed by outside curiosity-seekers. Yusei followed Jack's lead.

Yusei saw what Jack had in mind. The cave was smallish, but large enough so that their D-wheels could both be concealed and effectively block the entrance so that anyone coming in would have to make some sort of commotion if extracting the D-wheels or moving past them to spy.

"You really don't want to get caught," Yusei said.

"Like I said," Jack said, "you don't want Crow to find out … and I don't want to look like I'm ashamed of this. The person I've chosen is worthy of a King," he averred, lifting his head with proud sullenness. "We shouldn't have to do this in the dirt. _Gah!_ It's _degrading_."

With that, Jack wrapped his arms around Yusei and practically lifted him into a deep, consuming kiss.

_My god, I'm going to lose it right now!_ Yusei thought, wrapping his legs around Jack's waist.

Jack moved a few steps and pressed Yusei against the cave wall, moving his lips down to Yusei's neck.

Yusei quickly pulled off his gloves and began gently yanking Jack's shirt out of his pants. He was very glad Jack hadn't decided to wear his riding jumpsuit today. "Jack …?"

"Mmmm?"

"Take your gloves off …"

"Mmmmoooh K."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Well, here's the first majorly canon-based chapter. I hope you liked it!

Oops, guys, I forgot to thank you for the reviews (major bad on me, don't know what I was thinking)! Thanks ever so, MrMyshka and KizunaTsudoishi! I'm glad that Jack is making sense. Thanks for the plug for Satisfaction again! :) I really wanted to get this one going for the folks who enjoyed that story.

_Arc/Canon notes_: If I remember correctly, the ramen adventure is part of the 4Kids arc, but the ME investigation is not. Sherry can't be lost in 4Kids, because her involvement later on is omitted.

_ME_: Moment Express

_A savant, Jack_: Yusei actually means "an idiot savant" here.

And, in chapter 4 ...

Jack and Crow have a heart-to-heart?

(Extraneous detail that you don't need to know, but if you're absolutely fascinated by the "writer's process," read on:) You ever have a bit of story that is problematic? You want to keep it but it doesn't quite fit? The next chapter was like that. I realized that part of it wasn't working, so I had to remove it and work the part that was working into another chapter. Problem? The part that wasn't working was pretty cool. I think I'll save it and use it as the basis of another story. Oh well!


	4. A Clean Sweep

**4. A Clean Sweep**

Repairs to the roads and duel tracks continued over the next couple of weeks. Still, the date that the WRGP was to continue was finally nearing. Jaeger had resumed his post as interim director of the Public Maintenance Bureau and Yusei and Bruno redoubled their efforts to complete modifications to the D-wheels—as though it were possible to redouble such a diligent effort.

Jack watched Yusei drift back into the rhythm of work with a little disappointment, but what did he expect? Their encounter after the appearance of the Final Moment was an exception; the urgent answer to surging emotion.

But the Final Moment was still there. Yusei had things to do to get them ready. Jack was left to his practice duels, occasional D-wheel testing, and training. He preferred to do his physical training off-site and he was more than happy to do so now. That way, he didn't have to miss Yusei with him sitting just across the room. And working himself until he dropped was the best way he knew to deal with frustrations of any kind.

He supposed that Yusei dealt with it by burying himself in work. He certainly didn't seem bothered by things. Not even that looming black island in the sky.

In some ways Jack was starting to feel a little like he was beginning to settle into a period of waiting. Even the WRGP was, in its own way, something that he needed to get beyond to get where he really wanted to be. Not that the WRGP wasn't important.

After all, the world had to be saved before you could do anything in it …

Still, the tournament was dragging on, and the situation was getting more dire. He wanted to stop waiting and start fighting: win or lose, get this show on the road. Well, win, because he refused to lose. Not to them.

One of these fine afternoons found Crow walking in the door, whistling, only to find a damp sponge hurtling toward his face. He deftly plucked it out of the air and spotted the source: Jack, out of his riding jumper and in plain dark gray pants and light blue shirt, with a butcher's apron over them. "You? Cleaning? Let me call Yusei and see if I have today down in the pool."

"Nothing doing, pipsqueak. This is a surprise for Yusei. He's been so busy that things have gotten … well …" Jack shrugged. He hated a dirty house almost as much as he hated cleaning. "Want to help?"

"Anything to encourage this sort of behavior," Crow grinned. "Where are those two, anyway?"

Jack grimaced slightly at the word, _two_, but shrugged it off, saying, "They said something about 'combing junkyards' or something equally boring and headed out."

"Seems to me you used to love combing junkyards."

"For cards."

"Oh, pardon me, Sire."

"You're excused."

They started out scrubbing the kitchenette area together.

"I wonder how long it's going to take those two to get the D-wheels the way they want them," Jack said. "Or do you think they ever will get them the way they want them? Do you think that if they finish this upgrade, Yusei'll just come up with a new idea and start a new project before the WRGP starts again?"

"I think we'll be OK. Yusei will make sure they're ready when the WRGP starts."

"I just don't want him to overdo it."

"You and me both."

Jack wanted to mention that he was glad Yusei wasn't taking on repair work, but thought better of it. No need to give Crow an excuse to needle him about the money Jack _wasn't_ bringing in.

"Jack," Crow said with a hint of hesitation, "I'm kind of impressed by the way you've accepted Bruno. I mean, the way he came in and all, I wondered if you could."

Jack looked at Crow. Why did he bring this up now, of all times? It was frustrating that Bruno was able to spend so much time with Yusei when he was so busy, but what could Jack do about it? There was no way he was going to become a computer or mechanical genius. At best, he was competent as a mechanic, and he'd never do anything much with computers. It's not like he could help Yusei.

"Jack?" asked Crow, obviously expecting an answer instead of an extended stare.

"Uh, yeah, I guess I sort of have accepted him, but …" he grimaced, "provisionally."

Bruno _seemed_ nice enough. He was so friendly, and smart, and he was so damn helpful … but no matter how Jack tried to put them out of his mind—he certainly didn't have any reason to harbor them—he couldn't quite let go of his last lingering suspicions about him. Late at night, Jack still wondered how it could be that nothing—_nothing!_—had turned up about someone so apparently remarkable as him. _Sure, amnesiac mechanical/computer geniuses just fall out of the sky serendipitously when you need them. Uh huh. Tell me another one_.

"Still?"

"I'm not getting into it," he grumbled. How could he say anything?

He couldn't just tell Yusei that—or anyone else, for that matter. Now he'd just sound jealous. And, what's worse, he felt jealous … not of Bruno _per se_—after all, who would any sane person want, given the choice? Bruno? Or Jack Atlas? Come on!—no, he was jealous, ridiculously jealous, of the time that Bruno took away. Time that Yusei could have spent with Jack. That, and the fact that Bruno could speak Yusei's language: tech-speak. Bruno could satisfy an aspect of Yusei that Jack could never touch, and that annoyed him.

"Hey," he said, wanting to push the offending thoughts out of his mind, "let's talk about something else. How about the upcoming competition?"

The conversation turned to cards and competition, quickly lightening the load on Jack's mind. Between the two of them, the entire living space was spick and span in no time and even the garage area was tidied. A pleasant banter continued between the two all the while.

At last, the pair tossed themselves onto the couch. "You want to watch a video?" asked Crow. "I'm done with deliveries for the day."

_He wants to hang out with me?_

"OK," Jack said, watching Crow amble over to the bookshelf where a pile of DVDs awaited.

"What do you want to see? Action? Horror? Not a love story, I know how you hate that."

"Uh, whatever you want." Jack frowned a little, thinking about what Yusei had told him.

Crow fished something out and said, "This is perfect. Fantasy. I think you'll like it too." He put in a disk, then sat by Jack.

But before Crow located the remote, Jack spoke up. "Crow, Yusei said … Do you …" _what, love me? Ridiculous._ He couldn't ask that. "Forget it."

"No, what?"

Jack ransacked his brain for a subject that would fit into the conversation. There were plenty suitably embarrassing to broach, so he said, "Crow, when—when we were in Satellite, we hardly ever argued. Now it seems like we do nothing but. What _is_ your issue with me, anyway?"

Crow looked into Jack's face as though that were the last question he'd expected Jack to ask. "C'mon, Jack," he said, "we were actually talking for once. Enjoying each other's company like old times. Why ruin things?"

"No, I really want to know."

Crow sighed and leaned back.

"Where would I begin?" Crow asked. "Setting aside the whole kidnapping, card-stealing, bailing-Satellite thing, you can't hold down a decent job and bring in money, you spend money you don't have, and you're not a team player. We're a team, Jack. You should be doing whatever it takes to help the team win, and you're not."

Jack stood, feeling himself becoming defensive and angry, but held on to what Yusei had said—what he had learned in Nazca—with everything he had. If he let himself respond the way Crow expected, Crow would skate free. Jack suddenly realized that this was a lot like dueling. Crow expected him to fight back, to try to overpower him. If he did, he'd just play into Crow's hands—he'd flip Jack onto his butt without breaking a sweat. But if Yusei was right, Jack should have every advantage. Didn't he have a new way of fighting? Instead of going straight to the offensive, he should try something different and unexpected. He took a deep breath.

"Crow, you don't understand. If I compromise in any aspect of my life—employment, for example—my dueling will suffer. I can't afford to put in less than my full effort into anything. If I'm doing anything to less than the best of my ability, then why am I there?"

Crow looked surprised. Obviously he was expecting Jack start yelling.

"But employers don't want you to spend the time and effort to perfect something! They want the job done! Efficiently."

"Which is why they fire me. I'm willing to accept the consequences. If they don't want me, they can hire someone else."

"Jack—!"

"If I compromise there, everything starts to erode, and I might as well quit dueling altogether because I'll be useless. Trust me. It's more important that I be fit for 5D's right now than I hold down a job. It's not just the WRGP now."

"I don't see how they're connected, Jack," Crow said, shaking his head.

"You think that you're a different person when you're doing different things?"

"Well, no …"

Jack shrugged as though his point were proven.

Crow rolled his eyes. There seemed to be no reasoning with him. "And the spending?"

"What, coffee and a suit? Are you going to complain about ramen now? I suppose I should have forgotten about the suit, but I wanted to make a good impression for 5D's at the gala."

Crow choked back his opinion of Jack's idea of a good impression and said, "We're talking about areas in which you could economize, Jack!" But Jack did have a point. "It's more than just that, and-and we can buy our own coffee when you're buying the most expensive variety at the cafe."

Jack sighed. Coffee was really the one luxury that he was loath to forgo. He'd never experienced it until he left Satellite and found it, from ritual to lingering experience, to be addictive and the one symbol and reminder of a higher station that he couldn't seem to give up. And the better the coffee—better brands were almost impossible to find except at cafes and high-priced specialty shops. This was not something Crow would understand. "I suppose …" he conceded. "But … I think I _have_ improved on teamwork. Haven't I started using Trust Guardian? Granted, after seeing Team Unicorn in action, we all have—"

"Jack, yeah, you're a little better, but … let's face it. You're always going to want to take everyone on by yourself. I don't know whether it's because you want to hog the spotlight or because you want to protect us, but you'll always forget that you should be thinking about the guys following you. You can't carry the whole load on your shoulders, Atlas!"

"So you really see me as a screw-up? A …" the word stuck in his throat, but he managed to cough it out, "has-been?"

"Jack …" Clearly Crow was uncomfortable with this subject. _Well, good_, thought Jack, _that makes two of us. Why should I have all the fun?_ "Uh, I wouldn't put it like that … it's …"

"OK, what is it like?" Jack demanded, fists on hips. No doubt Crow felt a little intimidated by this stance, but Jack hardly cared.

"Well, you've … you've had difficulties lately …" Crow began.

"And I've taken steps to address them." _What was Nazca all about if not that?_

"You … you used to be unbeatable, Jack."

_In Satellite_. It seemed like a million years ago. Jack didn't bother replying to this.

Crow took the opportunity to hastily add, "Although it's been a long time since I've beaten you."

"You've never beaten me, Crow."

It looked like Crow was about to say something, but decided not to. Jack wondered if he caught something in Crow's eyes. _Was it …? Did he …?_

Jack laughed. "You're … you're pissed at me because I let Yusei beat me, aren't you? He broke my feet of clay and knocked me off my pedestal, and you just can't forgive me for it."

"_That's not it at all!_" Crow shouted, but Jack couldn't help but notice the hint of fear in his eyes. It was almost exactly the same as the look in a duelist's eyes when he realized that he was going to lose. A duelist could have everything going in his favor and still get that look in his eyes … and when he did, Jack just knew. There was no way. And he moved in for the kill. Jack could spot it at fifty meters, let alone the short distance that stood between the two of them.

Jack reached out to pin him down, but Crow was faster, squirming away from under his grasp.

"You … you really …" he began, but Crow pushed past him.

"That's not it," he insisted. "I have to get ready, Jack," he muttered. "I have deliveries to make."

"But didn't you say—"

… _you were done for the day?_

"No. I—I have another shift coming up. I forgot." He scrambled around the couch and sprinted for the door.

"Hunh."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

To those of you in the US, Happy Thanksgiving, guys! I know I'm a little early, but I bet you'll be busy tomorrow. And to those of you outside the US, I hope that you have many things to be thankful for.

I'd originally hoped to get this out about a week after the last, but things have been grueling at work and generally difficult, so I've put it off until I had a couple of days off over the holidays. Whew! Thanks for being patient ... I hope it's worth it! Maybe I'll get really enthusiastic and post another chapter over the break. (I can be encouraged ... ;) )

If you read my last chapter right away, you might have missed my thanks to my reviewers, which I realized I forgot to add and had to put in later on. As we all know, I'm a sucker for the support of my readers! So please feel free to let me know what you think! Speaking of, I'd hoped to see some feedback about the last chapter, particularly since it was built around canon events ... I wanted to see how I did! Oh well!

On a semi-related note, if you happen to read an old story (by anyone, not necessarily me) that you really like, do review and let them know! I received a couple of reviews for a story that I finished several months back and I can't express how encouraging that is! :) It really makes me want to get back to my stories and get them going.

It's almost a year now that I joined and started posting stories! Wow, hard to believe. I was thinking of posting a one-off for the occasion, but it doesn't look like I have a good idea for that, so I'll have to satisfy myself with posting a chapter here. Oh well.

Yeah, well, that's a lot of journal-type notes, guess I have a lot on my mind. Sorry about that. A couple about the story:

_Let me ... see if I have today down in the pool_: In case it isn't clear, Crow is insinuating that he and Yusei are part of a betting pool on what day Jack would initiate cleaning.

_what he had learned in Nazca_: Jack's new way of fighting is discussed in greater detail in _Satisfaction_.

Preview of chapter 5:

_Aki stopped him, laying her hand on his shoulder. "What's his problem?" she asked._

_"I think that was my fault. I need to learn to let some things go."_

_"You? Come on, Yusei. Jack's the unreasonable one. We all know that."_

Yusei catches up with 5D's after helping team Taiyou.


	5. Shake-up

****warnings: spoilers

**5. Shake-up**

The actual start of the WRGP was looming ever closer. 5D's started a grueling practice schedule and was making great progress. Aki was putting in some time after school training as their alternate because … well, you never know …

That routine was interrupted when one day Yusei and Bruno vanished from the garage mysteriously not long before Aki rushed in with the news that Team Ragnarok was arriving at the arena for an unplanned exhibition match before the finals. She was anxious to go with Yusei, but ended up settling for the company of Jack, Crow, and Ruka.

Yusei arrived only after the exhibition match, having stopped to assist team Taiyou.

Yusei, Bruno, and Rua stared at the bracket sadly. "We have to face Team Yaiyou first thing?" exclaimed Yusei. "But Bruno and I just fixed their D-wheel!"

Jack lifted a blond eyebrow and looked at him. "Their D-wheel? As in one D-wheel for the three of them?"

"Yeah … one. That's not _so_ unusual, Jack. Remember? Satellite? Our—no, make that _your_—first D-wheel?" He scowled. "You ought to remember that well enough!"

"Yusei …" Yusei was about to whirl around and stalk off, but a large, white-clad hand grabbed his wrist in an iron grip. Their eyes met for one brief instant. "How many times do I need to say it?" Jack said in a low and urgent voice.

_I'm sorry._

Yusei stopped, calming himself, but the man who held his wrist let go and disappeared into the dispersing crowd in a few swift steps.

He began to go after Jack, hating himself for being so angry with him. _Why does it still hurt so much …!_

Aki stopped him, laying her hand on his shoulder. "What's his problem?" she asked.

"I think that was my fault. I need to learn to let some things go."

"You? Come on, Yusei. Jack's the unreasonable one. We all know that."

"I can't always throw things in his face that can't be changed and don't matter any more. He has to put this crap behind him. It's what's holding him back and I can't be part of that. I need to help him move forward."

"You're right. 5D's depends on it."

"5D's. Right."

Aki looked at him strangely for a moment. "Is there something other than 5D's that you're concerned about?"

"I'm his friend, Aki. He needs to move on for his own sake."

"Hey, Aki, have you told Yusei about the duel yet?"

Yusei looked over to see Crow, flushed with excitement, fresh from a confab with Bruno and the twins. Oddly, Aki looked a little annoyed. "I was just getting to that, actually—"

"The exhibition duel? I'm really sorry I missed that. Did they play a god card?"

"Did they ever! You should have seen it, Yusei! I thought the Crimson Dragon was coming out for sure—"

"What?" Yusei looked off in the direction Jack had headed. "Why didn't Jack—How?"

"Well, in comes Team Ragnarok for the exhibition, right? Special and off-the-cuff as part of the announcement? They choose the opponent. So this guy—Dragan?—makes a beeline straight for Jack and challenges him!"

"And?"

"Jack doesn't turn a hair and accepts. A play in, it's Red Demon's Dragon against Thor, and all hell breaks loose. I'm not kidding! There's some sort of reaction and the building starts to come apart at the seams! So Jaeger pulls the plug on the duel. I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't. Maybe the whole building would have shaken loose. All I know is that Jack was as cool as a cucumber through the whole thing."

"That's Jack for you."

_Crap._

_Why wasn't I here?! _

"Yes, but it wasn't a complete duel," said Aki.

"That's why it's gonna be standing room only for the rematch!" said Crow.

Yusei looked off again. "I need to talk to him …"

"Oh, let him stew," said Aki. "Can't we have dinner for once?"

"Hey, we can all go. As a team," said Crow.

"We can't go as a team without Jack," said Yusei.

"But that's his problem," said Crow.

"Whatever. You go ahead. I'll get him and meet up with you later. We don't have much more time to pull ourselves together."

Yusei marched off in the direction that he'd seen Jack go and finally caught up with him all the way back at Poppo Time. "Jack, 5D's is having a team dinner right now. Let's go join them, OK?"

"You go ahead. I'm not in the mood."

"Jack … I'm sorry about back there. Bringing up the past like that … I've already forgiven you and … That was thoughtless of me."

"No, all you did was tell the truth. I can't fault you for that. It's just that … Bringing up all that, how I gave up everything go get here, and I didn't even get what I came for … not really …" He shook his head. "Can't I ever get past the mistakes I made?"

Yusei stepped forward and embraced Jack. "Jack, it's my mistake. It hurt a lot to lose that bike, but … it hurt so much more to lose you … that you took it was …" He buried his face against Jack's chest, unable to find the words. "I don't want to dwell on the past and I don't want you to. In my book, you've already made up for it. When you reacted like that to Team Taiyou, it just brought everything back so strong."

"Yusei … you're starting to hurt me …" Jack grunted.

Yusei realized that he was squeezing Jack tightly and relaxed his grip a little. "Sorry," he said. Now that the urgency of making things right was wearing off, he was starting to notice Jack's closeness. "Uh, Crow said something about the exhibition match. Why didn't you say you had dueled?"

"I didn't exactly get the chance," Jack murmured. His voice sounded muffled because he was burying his face in Yusei's hair. He pressed his lips to Yusei's hair and kissed it a couple of times for good measure.

Yusei closed his eyes and started to lean against Jack, trying to concentrate on what he was saying. "Uhn, he said you, uhm, about brought the house down."

"Oh, right. That god card and Red Demon's … no problem." Jack made to pull Yusei into a kiss, but Yusei shoved him away. "What?"

"You're just going to be blasé about that?" As good as it felt to touch Jack, he couldn't believe that he was so calm.

"It was awesome … but I had my fingers on my cover card ready to flip it, so I wasn't worried. It wasn't necessary, though. Besides, the building was OK. Jaeger stopped everything before it became dangerous."

"I guess." Yusei sighed. "The team's expecting us. We really should catch up with them before dinner's over."

"Seriously? And waste this opportunity?" Jack sighed. As though to show Yusei exactly what he was missing, he pulled him into a passionate kiss, making sure that his hands roamed freely as he did so. When he finally pulled away, Yusei felt a bit dizzy and weak.

"I know, but they're expecting us. We're sure to be interrupted, one way or another."

Jack sighed. "I suppose you're right. If we don't go, I'll never hear the end of it. But if we're going, I want one more."

Yusei looked at him a little nervously.

"Don't you want me to kiss you?" asked Jack.

"Yes, but …" _We're going to dinner, and … _

"I promise not to overdo it," he said, leaning in and gently taking Yusei's chin into his hand. Jack kissed him very gently and tenderly, lingering just a little, then pulled away, looking into Yusei's eyes. He sighed, then said, "Let's go."

Yusei watched Jack walk over to the Wheel of Fortune longingly, thinking, _This is almost worse_.

"Aren't you coming?" Jack asked. "I need you to show me where we're going."

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Thanks so much to those who added favorites and follows! :) Still no reviews, but people seem to be reading this, so I'm going to assume that I'm doing OK. Oh well, muddling on. In honor of Thanksgiving and my anniversary on this site, here's another chapter!

Yes, this is yet another episode that is not part of the 4Kid's 5D's series. (Watching the original subbed Japanese is _highly_ recommended!)

Team Taiyou: The entire Team Taiyou arc is omitted from the 4Kids version of 5D's. Note that it includes a lot (!) of backstory about the new Taiyou characters and their struggle against all odds to enter and then win the WRGP. Because of their humble beginnings, Yusei feels a strong sense of sympathy for them.

_I had my fingers on my cover card_: It's pretty clear in the anime that Jack is about to play a trap of some kind. He hesitates as the two monsters grapple and the building starts to weaken.

Preview of chapter 6:

_"You don't remember? You dueled me before. When you were King. When I decided I wanted to duel seriously, I knew that I needed to win one of the fabled Polar god cards. My father and I succeeded—"_

_"What has that to do with me?" demanded Jack._

_"__I'm getting to that."_

Jack gets yet another unpleasant reminder of Godwin and the consequences of past decisions.


	6. A Shadow Cast

****warnings: spoilers

**6. A Shadow Cast**

After the duel with Team Taiyou, Yusei, Jack, and Crow had dinner together.

"Honestly, did you have to fix their D-wheel quite _that_ well?" groused Jack. "I mean, fixing is one thing, upgrading is another. That Yoshi didn't have the experience to handle the power you gave it. He couldn't handle the bike at that speed and nearly took me out at the first turn. I could have crashed!"

"You evaded him easily enough," Yusei said between bites.

"But I had to fall back to do it!"

"You can't always take the first turn, Jack."

"I don't see why not. I want you to take a look at the Wheel of Fortune tomorrow."

"I might have time."

"Make time," Jack said slightly sullenly.

"Yes, _Sire_," Yusei said derisively. Although … Yusei had to admit that somehow Jack even managed to make childishness attractive.

"I go first. This helps the team."

"I hate to admit it, Yusei," Crow said, "but he does have a point."

Yusei sighed. "I guess he does. Maybe I did overdo it with Team Taiyou … a little."

"Still," said Jack, "despite the fact that I should have caught on to what they were doing faster—"

"Your instincts were right on," said Crow. "I thought you were being impatient."

"—it was a truly great duel. A classic. And we won!"

"As a team," added Yusei. "Your Monster Baton," he looked at Crow, "and your Black Feather − Bora the Sharp … It was so satisfying." Yusei beamed at his teammates. "So what do we know about Team Ragnarok?"

They started looking over the duel results, but the information was scantier than they would have liked. Apparently Ragnarok had won handily against their competition without even calling on their god cards.

After dinner, Yusei, Jack, and Crow drove out to the overlook to take a good look at the Final Moment. It would be good motivation to get a good view of the thing that they were facing. Even though they couldn't completely comprehend it, it was obvious that it was something that had to be stopped … no matter what.

And they knew one thing.

They were the ones who had to stop it.

They pulled their D-wheels up to the overlook only to find that three duelists were already there: Harald, Dragan, and Brave. Team Ragnarok.

"You can see it too," Yusei said.

"Obviously," said Harald. "And you experienced it too, didn't you? The space/time waves? They changed everything. No one else noticed because the time waves _changed_ them. Your team and my team were the only ones who came through them unchanged … except for one other, the new team that came out of all this. You know who it is, don't you? Team New World."

Yusei was impressed by Harald's unflappable nature, and waited as he went on. "We're the team with the rune eyes, who have been called by the three Polar Gods of the stars, given the god cards and the same mission as your Crimson Dragon: to defeat Team New World and Yliaster." Harald went on to recount how they came together as a team.

"Since we're both fighting Yliaster," said Yusei, "we should join forces."

"The gods have ordained that we cannot help you because your father, Yusei, is responsible for Zero Reverse—one of the fundamental causes of this entire fight."

"There's no reason why we should join them," said Jack. Yusei could hear an undertone of anger in his voice at their insinuations and condescension.

"As expected," said Dragan, speaking up for the first time. "You are the only one to show a duelist's pride. Do you know why I chose to duel you in exhibition?"

"Of course not."

"You don't remember? You dueled me before. When you were King. When I decided I wanted to duel seriously, I knew that I needed to win one of the fabled Polar god cards. My father and I succeeded—"

"What has that to do with me?" demanded Jack.

"I'm getting to that. We succeeded. I retrieved Thor, but my father was injured in the process. Godwin's man—Jaeger?—came to me with the offer of a duel with you, Jack Atlas, the King, and enough money to take care of my father's medical needs. But there was a catch. All I had to do was lose." He went on to summarize the duel. "If I played my trap," he insisted, "I would have won that duel."

Jack was adamant. "There's no way. I don't care what you had, you wouldn't have won."

"Let's settle this tomorrow, then, when we duel."

"That's fine with me," stated Jack. Suddenly, he grimaced, yanking his arm up to find his sign glowing.

Dragan's rune glowed as if in response. Soon Harald's and Brave's runes and Yusei's and Crow's signs were all glowing as the two teams faced off.

* * *

It had been an awkward ride back, what with Jack silent and moody the whole way. Neither Crow nor even Yusei knew what to say to him. Yusei made a move to head him off on the way to his room, but Jack would have none of it and simply pushed by him and closed the door without a word.

This was what Yusei hated most about Jack, the way he closed himself off when something was bothering him. His first instinct was to pursue him, but he decided it was best to give him a little space for the time being. They still had one more day before their next duel.

Still, it really hurt that Jack would rather handle this alone than ask him to help. Especially now.

He sighed. Some things never seemed to change.

He sat down on couch in the living area and switched on the TV, looking for a duel report.

"You're not going to check our D-wheels or anything?" asked Crow.

"I can't concentrate on that. Let Bruno check them over."

"Did you say anything to him?"

"Not yet. We can tell him tomorrow." Yusei sighed. "I don't want to repeat this. It's going to be hard enough telling the story once."

"Poor Jack," said Crow.

"Don't let him catch you saying anything like that! This is enough of a blow to his pride. If he thinks you're feeling sorry for him …"

"I … I'm not—!" protested Crow.

"Good. Better that you yell at him like always." Yusei frowned at the TV. "I wish things had gone a little better today."

"What are you talking about? We defeated Zushin the Sleeping Giant! If that's not impressive—!"

"But we should have been able to prevent it from appearing. I'm proud of our accomplishment, but I still think Team Taiyou's accomplishment bringing it out is more impressive than ours, frankly."

Crow sighed. "I guess you have a point." He watched the news for a few moments, then said, "I guess you were right, Jack did call it after all. He was rushing it, but he had a good reason."

"Heh, you're right. He gambled and counted on his team to handle the rest. You know, he might not be the most intellectual duelist out there, but I'll take his instincts over most duelists' intellect any day. He caught on at least as quickly as I did. He might not have seen exactly _what_ as soon as I did, but … he _sensed_ it, and early."

"I have to admit … he's something else. I don't understand him half the time … hell, I can't _stand_ him half the time …"

"And the other half the time?"

"Uh …"

Yusei looked over at Crow and swore he saw a little color tinge his cheeks in the dim light of the lamp.

Crow turned back toward the TV. "I just hope Jack can pull himself together by day after tomorrow. He seemed rattled. I know he put on a pretty tough front, but …"

"No, he respects this guy. It's pretty clear how he feels. It doesn't matter that Godwin did it, Crow. He's going to feel responsible no matter what."

* * *

The next morning, Jack marched up to Jaeger's office, threw the doors open, grabbed Jaeger by his lapels and pulled him over the desk. "Is it true?" he demanded.

"Is what true?" asked Jaeger nervously.

"What that duelist told me."

"That duelist? What duelist?"

"Dragan. Of Team Ragnarok."

"Oh … I don't know what you mean."

"Well, let me be more clear, then. Is it true that Godwin was using me as his dog?"

Jaeger began trembling violently. "I-I still don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"So it _is_ true. Tell me everything, or I'll _make_ you tell me." Jack pulled him closer to look him in the eye.

"_W-wait!_" Jaeger began chattering quickly. "Remember, it was my job! I was working for the other side! Godwin told me to find someone … someone who was in need, someone whose pride would never allow him to lose, even in the presence of the King. B-but you would never lose to _him_—" Jaeger began to slow like a clock winding down as Jack set him down again "—so it didn't matter that I … fixed … these things …"

Jack was already walking out of the office, slowly, without his usual confident bearing, leaving a very relieved Jaeger in his wake.

He walked for a while, finding himself down on the bridge overlooking the river. It had gotten so he rather liked that location, actually. It was a good place to think about things. He couldn't stop thinking about Dragan and what he must have gone through. He was clearly a duelist with true pride; a duelist to be taken seriously. What Godwin did to him was unforgivable.

And, by extension …

He, Jack Atlas, was unforgivable.

* * *

At Poppo Time, Yusei sat eating breakfast.

"Where's Jack?" asked Crow.

"He wasn't here when I got up," said Yusei. "I think he's working things through." He shrugged. "At least he doesn't have to be here when we tell everyone."

"Tell everyone what?" asked Bruno.

Yusei sighed.

"I'll fill him in," offered Crow. "You can tell everyone else when we meet."

Yusei nodded and watched as Crow pulled Bruno aside. Bruno looked very thoughtful, then headed out the door. "What was that all about? Doesn't he know we're about to meet?"

"He said he'd be back right away. He had some sort of idea." Crow shook his head. "Who knows what he's thinking? But whatever it is, he wants to help."

It didn't matter, Yusei had to put it out of his mind because Aki, Rua, and Ruka walked in shortly thereafter and he had to tell them what had happened. Watching Jack live through it was painful enough, but having to talk about it was worse. He hated to think about how they would look at Jack and how that would make him feel … but there was no helping it. They'd have to get through the day somehow.

Aki might not be Jack's greatest supporter, but she honestly couldn't believe that he'd do such a thing. "Of course he didn't have anything to do with it!" agreed Rua.

Just then, Bruno came up the stairs. "I found something that I think might help," he said, pulling a disk out of his pocket.

"_King of the Duel_?" said Yusei.

The entire team sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked Bruno. "I just thought the duel might be on here somewhere."

"It's nothing," said Yusei. He put the DVD into the computer drive. As it turned out, the duel was, in fact, part of the documentary.

"Look," said Aki, "Dragan never activated his face down card. What do you think the card could be?"

As the team sat staring at each other considering the possibilities, Jack came trudging up the stairs, only to be greeted with a flock of sheepish expressions. "What's that?" he asked, spotting the disk case.

"Uh, just an old movie we were watching," Bruno said, quickly palming the case.

"It's all right, Jack," Rua piped up suddenly. "You didn't even know what was going on and that guy only wanted money—"

"What do you know about money?!" Jack demanded, turning on him. "Do you think someone like Dragan would throw away his pride as a duelist just for money?! That he could deal with someone like Jaeger without good reason?! You don't know what you're talking about!"

Ignoring Yusei's attempts to calm him and pull him away from Rua, he finally let go. Then, without a further word, he spun on his heel and strode back down and out the door.

Yusei turned back to the team, wishing that Jack would let him in like the team did. But here he was smoothing things over with them instead of Jack, when it was Jack who was really hurting. He'd so much rather help Jack out, but Jack wouldn't let him! Who knew where he was, except that he was brooding alone, like usual.

Finally, sometime during the afternoon, the gang left. Around dinner time, Crow grabbed Bruno and said, "Hey, I'm treating you to dinner," leaving Yusei to wait on Jack's return.

It wasn't until late that evening that Jack walked in, and then he walked up to the top landing of the clock tower and sat in the lone easy chair up there in the dark.

Yusei followed him up to make sure how he was.

It was hard to see Jack so frustrated. Yusei knew that he was one of the sources of Jack's frustration, which made it that much harder. It was easy enough to get the gang to let him approach Jack alone after Jack blew up at Rua, but it would be hard for him to know what to say … maybe harder to restrain himself.

Jack had his own needs that had nothing to do with him, Yusei knew that. But … with every step that he took up the stairway, he felt his own need growing stronger. The opportunity …

He shoved the thought from his mind and entered the loft, where Jack had stretched out in the darkness. Yusei leaned against the wall opposite Jack, putting space between them. A buffer. He waited, allowing Jack to let it out.

"Apologize to Rua for me, will you? I was rude. I was being used by Godwin back then and …" he shrugged.

There it was. Shame upon shame. His humiliation had been witnessed and understood by a child … and Jack had compounded that humiliation by taking his frustration out on said child. This had been happening over and over since everything had started. Team Unicorn, Bommer's little brother …

Jack's climb back from his fall from grace never seemed to end.

Yusei had forgiven Godwin for his excesses, but …

There seemed to be no end to the damage that he did to Jack. Had Godwin even understood it? Yusei wanted to refuse to believe that someone could do something like that intentionally.

"Jack … you were confident. You relied on your own strength. You can't be blamed for that."

"Nevertheless, the fact that Godwin even asked Dragan to do that is unforgivable to my pride as a duelist."

"Jack, I can't think of any solution other than this. You have to win your duel tomorrow. That's the only way you can recover your pride."

"Of course I'm going to win."

Yusei wanted so badly to reach for Jack, to console him … to console himself … something. He wanted the closeness badly, but he felt somehow that Jack needed the space, that there was something preventing him from accepting Yusei's comfort and affection. It was …

Yusei watched as Jack walked slowly downstairs toward his room.

_Yes._

It was definitely that he felt the need to prove himself.

After everything, he still felt the need to prove himself.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

All right ... I've looked this over, written tons of notes (too much this time). Must ... post ...

Thanks ever-so-much, everyone, for your reviews! It gives me a ton of motivation! :) Oh, and BTW, if you happen to read an older story (it could be by anyone) go ahead and review if you really like it! Believe me, it really makes the author's day. I've gotten some really nice reviews for my older stories & it's meant a lot!

Other thing, I still have a poll up on my profile page ... it's way unscientific, but you're welcome to go by and give me your input ... only 4 people have voted so far! You're also welcome to PM me if any of the (admittedly vague) story ideas I have listed there interest you. That will help me prioritize, although part of which story gets finished depends on inspiration and how the story cooperates. ;) ... You know how it is!

The scene in which 5D's meets Ragnarok: ... Is pretty much paraphrased from the translated anime episode I saw. I hope that it's satisfactory.

_King of the Duel_: The name of the DVD in the anime is _Lord of the King_ (yes, written in English, so to speak), which, frankly, doesn't make a lot of sense. So ... poetic license.

_I guess you were right_: (And more spoilers, a bit vague ...) During the duel against Taiyou, Crow complains that Jack's rushing things, but Yusei tells him that Jack senses something that requires immediate action rather than patience. (Jack goes through some deliberation whether to take a risk and trust his teammates or be more patient.)

_the other half the time_: About the one-sided attraction I've given Crow (I had a nice little PM chat about it over the latest break! cool!) ... I'd thought that I'd mentioned this incident in one of my author's notes for _Satisfaction_, but I couldn't find it. Remember the incident where Jack tries to build a little coffee table for their place and it falls apart, leaving Crow and Jack lying on the floor? Crow asks Jack something like, "What am I to you?" which is a yaoi-ish question if ever there was one. Crow knows that Yusei's very important to Jack, and he needs to feel important to Jack, too ... to Jack, not to Yusei. Even if you frame it in terms of friendship, it a little ... intense. Jack's answer (if I remember correctly) is something along the lines of "You are my valued companion." Poor Crow.

_the bridge overlooking the river_: We've seen Jack here on a couple of occasions, notably when he was unsuccessfully job-hunting. I picture this as a location that he would come to when he wants to think.

_Aki might not be Jack's greatest supporter_: Have you noticed that she and Jack don't seem to interact that much? Jack was the one around when she first fell into the Signers' circle, but he really didn't want to get involved, so he went out of his way to get Yusei involved _instead_. It's almost like there's something about her that makes him want to be only peripherally involved. I have an idea what it might be, but perhaps I'll save that (and, no, not jealousy).

Next time ...

_"What's he doing with all that?" asked Crow._

_"Watch," said Yusei, his eyes glued on Jack._

_Crow turned his full attention back to Jack and he saw it. Jack was … glowing? Yes! His whole body was glowing! Jack clutched at his chest, his heart, and said something about … his burning soul?_

_"Double tuning?" asked Crow. "So that's Scar Red Nova Dragon?!"_

Bear with me ... a lot o' dueling. But it's essential to the plot, so it must be done.


	7. Island of Destiny

Warnings: Spoilers, minor swearing, lots o' dueling

Opening note: Thanks to all who reviewed! You're awesome! (More afterward ...)

**7. Island of Destiny**

"How could this happen?!" fretted Jaeger his office overlooking the stadium. "How could Dragan return and expose my secret to Jack?! Has he no idea how _violent_ Jack can be?"

He paced back and forth endlessly, pausing to look out over the crowd and peer at the activities of Team 5D's before pacing even faster than before. "Who knows what he'll do if he loses? That is, _after_ he comes in here and kills me!"

Meanwhile, Jack himself took a moment alone beneath the stadium to gather himself. He looked at his reflection in the men's room mirror.

He couldn't allow himself to forget who he was. Especially today. If he lost today, how would he ever be able to fight Yusei? Someday he needed to reach that goal. If he failed today, the climb to that goal would be even harder. The drive to feel worthy …

_Hmph!_

He gave his reflection a small smile and turned away. No need to worry because he was going to make Yusei wish _he_ could duel the great Jack Atlas!

Or something …

He walked up to the pit area and walked over to the Wheel of Fortune, checking it over briefly.

As Jack prepared to take the track, the remainder of 5D's exchanged concerned looks before wishing him good luck with slightly forced smiles.

Yusei kept his hands on the Wheel of Fortune to prevent himself from giving Jack a huge hug before the duel.

_That would be a cool move, Yusei!_

He managed to give Jack's shoulder a manly slap as he wished him good luck. How Jack managed to look so cool and confident, he didn't know.

As he took the field, Jack muttered, "I _will_ recover my pride!" Then he accelerated with a purpose and made the first turn just ahead of Dragan. Drawing his hand, he was shocked to discover that the cards he held were identical to those from his first duel with Dragan.

_We'll see about this._

He summoned the same monster as he did in the previous duel, Top Runner, and challenged Dragan to settle things between them.

When Dragan responded with the same moves as their previous duel, Jack was pleased to see that they would indeed see about this. The duel played out identically to the last one up to the point where Dragan had failed to play his trap card.

This time, Dragan turned the card over. Jack was able to counter it, preventing the destruction of Red Demon's Dragon on that turn.

"Now our duel begins anew," he announced. "Our old quarrel is over."

"Very well," said Dragon complacently. The next turn, things turned as he managed to summon his god card, Thor.

The skies themselves seemed to respond to the card. Dark clouds rolled in and lightning bolts flashed around them as the seas parted to reveal the huge form of the monster.

_Can this be this solid vision?_

To Jack's dismay, Thor had the ability to negate and absorb the effect of a monster once per turn, which it used to destroy Red Demon's Dragon. Dragon smugly settled back, sure that he would win the match easily.

Jack felt the blow of Red Demon's Dragon's destruction resonate through his body and shook his head to clear it as he worked to control the Wheel of Fortune. The pain was … excruciating. He glanced ever so quickly over to the pit. How was Yusei or Crow going to take this? Crow especially. They were both so tiny, and Crow seemed so fragile, just like a real bird.

For now, though, he had to worry about his own situation.

_I won't lose, even if my opponent is a god!_

* * *

In the pit, Crow and Yusei looked on as Dragan played his next card. Yusei said "That card will allow Dragan to attack twice!"

When the first attack connected with Barrier Resonator, Jack's D-wheel was sent spinning by the impact.

"That's real damage that Jack took!" Yusei said, worried.

Crow was outraged. "What is this?!" he shouted. "They can't be allowed to get away with that sort of thing!"

Yusei glanced over toward Team Ragnarok's pit and noticed that they seemed a little surprised themselves. He shifted his attention immediately back to the field in time to see Dragon's second attack connect with Top Runner, taking Jack down to 900 points and leaving him behind in a cloud of dust and smoke.

Crow's hand gripped Yusei's arm. A loud murmur arose from the crowd amid widespread speculation that he must have crashed.

Finally Jack emerged from the smoke. "You've got to hit harder than that to knock Jack Atlas out!" they heard over the comm.

Yusei and Crow heaved a sigh of relief and Yusei thought he heard Crow mutter, "You idiot, don't make us worry like that!"

Jack then opened his cover card, which returned Barrier Resonator and Top Runner to the field and dealt their combined attack in damage to Dragan. Beginning his turn, he used Speed World 2's effect to further reduce Dragan's life points, then activated Descending Lost Star to recall Red Demon's Dragon to the field.

"What's he doing with all that?" asked Crow.

"Watch," said Yusei, his eyes glued on Jack.

Crow turned his full attention back to Jack and he saw it. Jack was … _glowing?_ Yes! His whole body was glowing! Jack clutched at his chest, his heart, and said something about … his burning soul?

"Double tuning?" asked Crow. "So that's Scar Red Nova Dragon?!"

Aki, Ruka, and Rua, standing near Bruno's seat at the computer, were amazed as well.

A smile teased the corners of Yusei's lips. "Yes, that's the dragon he earned. Suddenly I'm feeling much better about this duel."

* * *

Over in Team Ragnarok's pit, Brave and Harald looked on.

"No wonder Dragan says this is the opponent he wants to beat," commented Harald. "He's much more formidable than I took him for."

"Don't tell me, you thought he was all mouth," said Brave. "In any case, he can certainly take a hit."

Harald shrugged slightly. "Have you found any information on that card?"

"Not a thing. It's not in the database."

"Can you sense its power? It's equivalent to a god's." Harald's brow creased. "This may be more difficult than we anticipated."

"I'll say. Look at that! It gained 500 points for every tuner in Jack's graveyard. It's up to 4500 points now."

"Don't worry, Dragan has an answer for it."

Sure enough, Dragan reduced Scar Red Nova Dragon's attack points by 2000 and ended the attack. He then activated Solemn Authority, protecting Thor from Scar Red Nova Dragon's effects.

"See, there's no way."

* * *

"I won't lose here!" Jack averred. "I'm going to fight on with the help of my friends!" His sign began glowing, the others glowing in answer.

He played Burning Reborn, tributing Scar Red Nova Dragon to return Red Demon's Dragon to the field. "Now," he said, "I'll activate Burning Reborn's effect by discarding a tuner to bring Scar Red Nova Dragon back stronger than ever!"

The attack brought Dragan's points to zero. Jack and Dragan rode back into the stadium together, Dragan congratulating Jack on a match well-fought.

"But you still won't beat the Polar gods," he said.

"How can you be so sure?"

"You'll see."

"What's that?" Jack asked as the rumble of far-off thunder sounded.

"You know what it is," Dragan said, heading toward the pit. "Oh, by the way, when the god resurrects, you're hit with 800 points of damage."

"Shit."

* * *

"_Jack!_"

Yusei was stunned by the turn of events. He'd just defeated Dragan and now that god, who'd been so hard to erase from the field, was back and Jack was down to 100 points … and looked beaten up.

He and Crow exchanged stunned looks, their rejoicing short-lived.

"And now, Team Ragnarok's second duelist, the trickster, Brave!" MC announced.

"Well, this is annoying," murmured Jack. Using Thor's effect, Brave reduced Scar Red Nova Dragon's points back to their normal 3500, but, since he had no cards in his graveyard, Thor's points were equal.

"This will take care of you!" Brave commented, attacking.

With the 800 points Jack was dealt upon Thor's resurrection, he was done.

Pulling into the pit, Jack handed his patch to Crow. "Careful, Crow," he said. "Those hits, that damage … it's real."

Jack joined Yusei and leaned back, crossing his arms. "Be especially careful when you get out there, Yusei. Those hits aren't easy to handle."

Yusei nodded. If Jack was feeling them, they must be tough. "Don't worry, Jack, Crow won't let Brave call out his god card … especially now that we know they can resurrect."

He looked over at Jack, looking calm and resolute. He knew that Jack must be in pain from the hits received, but he showed no sign of it.

"Jack …"

Jack looked over at Yusei, the sharpness of his violet gaze softening just a little.

"You were magnificent … as always. The hits … are you feeling all right?"

A glint of amusement filtered into Jack's eyes. "I'm fine, thanks, Yusei." The two turned their attention back to the duel.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"After the duel? Lets … talk."

"Of course. After we win."

They watched Crow deal substantial damage on the first turn, only to see it all reversed. "Impressive," Yusei commented. "This guy looks to be just as tricky as Crow."

That was confirmed the next turn as Crow played a trap to return Thor to the player's hand—in this case, the extra deck—simultaneously increasing Crow's life points. Unfortunately, Brave was prepared for that as well, further reducing Crow's life points to 650.

"How can he see through all of Crow's moves? If Brave draws a speed spell next turn—!" Jack groused. "Come on, Crow!"

Yusei folded his arms and said nothing, concentrating all his hopes into Crow's next draw. Brave looked awfully pleased with himself, and why shouldn't he be? He must be positive of victory.

Jack and Yusei exchanged looks. There was something in the air. The next turn, Crow marshaled his forces, playing a barrage of cards to not only summon Black Feather Dragon without suffering the effects of Brave's god cards, but also regain life points to 1250. At last, Crow was able to reduce Brave's life points to 2950.

Brave went to work, summoning Loki at last. This was the moment Crow was waiting for. He activated Black Sonic to remove both Thor and Loki from play, but Loki negated the trap through its effect, bringing Crow's gambit to naught. With Crow short on options, attacks from both gods went through, leaving him with 50 points and no cards in his hand.

There was a general murmur of concern over Crow's physical well-being given his number of life points. Jack, meanwhile, was fuming. "Crow's not the sort of guy who would lose in this situation!" Suddenly, his mood changed and he pointed out toward the crowd. "Wait, look at that!" he shouted. "It's dangerous!"

Yusei looked and saw that Crow's kids had moved their sign to the railing, where one of the kids was standing on the others' shoulders to hold the sign where Crow could see it. Yusei started, ready to run, but in the nick of time, Trudge saved the child from tumbling over and falling onto the track.

Crow looked visibly relieved.

"I hope all that at least gives Crow some support!" Yusei said.

Using Speed World 2's effect, Crow paid counters to draw two cards, set two cards and ended his turn.

5D's held their collective breaths as Brave drew, waiting to see whether he drew the speed spell that would allow him to drain the remainder of Crow's life points.

"Not a speed spell," Yusei sighed as Brave added the card to his hand.

"Do you think he'll pay ten speed counters to destroy one of those face-down cards?" asked Jack softly.

"That would be the prudent thing to do," said Yusei, "especially since he can destroy the other with Loki's effect. It will leave Crow wide open."

And that is exactly what Brave did. He then attacked with Loki. Crow countered with Black Wing only to have it destroyed by Loki's effect, as expected.

Crow recalled Black Feather Dragon.

"Hey, thanks for destroying both those cover cards," said Crow. "Since you destroyed both my Black Wing cards, I can remove them from play to destroy Loki and inflict damage equal to its attack. I think that will do it."

However, Brave's cover card took Crow down as well, ending the match in a draw. Mutual destruction … and mutual respect.

Jack and Yusei hurried down to meet Crow for the exchange. Crow handed Yusei the 5D's patch, wishing him good luck and allowing Jack to help him off of his D-wheel. "It was like you said, those gods are brutal. I think I need my nap now," he said, collapsing into Jack's arms.

* * *

Yusei took the field, quickly catching up to Harald. "We've matched up, blow for blow," Harald said. "Fate will decide who fights Yliaster."

"I don't believe in fate, Harald. I believe in carving my own path. I believe in my friends."

_I'm going to have to bolster my defense immediately_, thought Yusei. He looked at hand and immediately summoned Cosmic Compass, using its effect to summon two compass tokens, then set two cards.

Yusei watched for Harald's draw, then played Monster Chain to negate one battle phase for each monster that Harald controls. "You now have to skip the next three battle phases," he said.

"We'll see," said Harald. He then proceeded to put together an impressive combo to summon Odin, the final god card of Team Ragnarok.

_I'd freaking love this, _Yusei thought,_ if the world weren't in the balance … _

… _and I weren't likely to crash after they all attack … _

"Odin can negate the effects of cards upon gods," said Harald, "so your Monster Chain is in vain."

_My shield!_ Yusei thought. _I'm not going to have as much time to plan as I'd hoped._

"You can still surrender," Harald suggested. "Since this damage is real, I can't guarantee that you'll survive this."

"I can't surrender. You said it yourself. My father played a part in the destruction years ago and I feel a responsibility to protect this city. My father's soul is still a part of me. He told me that my time hadn't come yet. I can't just leave everything to fate."

They were traveling on the bridge now, speeding over the water, and Yusei looked up into the sky, noticing that the Final Moment was larger in the sky. For just a moment, he closed his eyes, begging for the strength to fight on. When he opened his eyes, he saw that his sign was glowing, and with that, he noticed four streaks of light flash across the water.

_I feel it!_

_The boost!_ All of his friends, strengthening him. Ruka's kindness, Aki's hope, Crow's joy, Jack's unshakable confidence. He felt a warmth blaze across his back and knew that the sign of the Crimson Dragon had appeared there. Quickly, he summoned Stardust Dragon, then Savior Star Dragon. He set Wave Rebound, then played Stay Force, which allowed him to keep Savior Star Dragon on the field—at a price.

"Since I can't attack because of Monster Chain, I'm paying 1000 life points to keep Savior Star Dragon," he said. It was a risk, but he had to do it.

If Harald attacks, Wave Rebound will take these gods off the field, Yusei thought. However, Harald played Odin's Eye, which allowed him to look at Yusei's set card. Instead of attacking, he set a card. "Your turn."

Yusei decided to use Speed World 2's effect to draw a card, taking his speed counters down to zero. "I'm paying 1000 points to keep Savior Star Dragon and ending my turn," he said.

"I negate Monster Chain's effect," Harald said.

"That means …" Yusei said. "Very well, I activate Savior Star Dragon's effect. With its tribute, all your cards' effects are negated and they are sent to the graveyard, and, with Wave Rebound's effect, your gods cannot revive."

"Unfortunately for you, you sent my Gjallarhorn to the graveyard as well. Because of it, you cannot prevent my gods from reviving. However, on the third end phase, all three gods will be removed from play and you will receive damage equal to their combined attack."

_10800 points! _thought Yusei._ Well, at least that gives me a defined schedule …_

Meanwhile, Harald collected on the resurrection effects of his gods, inflicting 800 points of damage, recovering Odin's eye, and drawing a card. At last, Monster Chain's effect was over.

"I summon Stardust Phantom and end my turn."

"That's pretty thin," commented Harald. "I'm going to destroy that card using Speed World 2's effect."

"Using Stardust Phantom's effect, I'm calling Stardust Dragon from the graveyard. I'm removing Stardust Phantom from play so that Stardust Dragon can't be destroyed in battle by reducing both its attack and defense by 800 points."

Taking three attacks was painful, though.

"I'm calling Jörmungandr to your side of the field," Harald announced. Suddenly Yusei found himself surrounded by some sort of ourobouros. "If this monster changes position, you receive 3000 points damage. I'm also summoning Fenrir to your side of the field. This monster changes the positions of all monsters you control during the standby phase. Oh, by the way, any battle damage to this card applies to both players."

_Well, if this isn't a puzzle …_

_But I have hope!_ "I activate the speed spell Hope for Escape," he said. "This allows me to pay 1000 life points to draw three cards." _200 points left, but it looks like I have an answer for that!_ "All right!" Quickly, he had played a combo that used Jörmungandr as material for his Accel Synchro along with Life Guardna, which brought him back to 1000 points.

"I activate the speed spell Star Force to remove Fenrir from play and increase the attack of Shooting Star Dragon by its attack." Drawing the top five cards of his deck, he drew three tuners, attacking once for each and reducing Harald's life points to 1900.

At last Yusei felt he was making some progress. However, Shooting Star Dragon's attack was back to 3300, and he'd soon be back to 200 life points with Thor's effect.

He set two cards face down. _I'm trusting that Harald can't resist using his favorite cards_, Yusei thought.

Harald summoned Odin's Eye, then tributed a monster to prevent it from negating the god's effects.

"I use Trick Mirror to copy the effect of Odin's Eye to negate the Polar gods' effects," said Yusei.

Harald attacked Shooting Star Dragon with Odin, but Yusei removed it from play.

"Now I play Zero Force," said Yusei. "That reduces the attack of all the Polar gods to zero!"

"This is …"

"Yes, Gjallarhorn activates at the end of the turn, removing all the gods from play—"

"—and inflicting their combined attack …"

"Zero."

The two watched as the gods disappeared and Shooting Star Dragon appeared.

"Shooting Star Dragon, direct attack, Shooting Sonic!"

It was all over.

As they drove back to the pit crew area, Harald said, "I hate to admit it, but my rune eye now acknowledges you as our comrades after all."

"I'm glad to hear it. Your support is important to us."

When they stopped, he was practically lifted from his D-wheel by Jack, who couldn't wait to congratulate him.

"Gently, Jack, you of all people should know what he's been through!" reminded Crow.

"But we won! This is very important! We have to win, no matter what!"

Yusei looked into Jack's eyes, absorbing the feeling there with all he had.

_Let's talk …_

But it was a lot bigger than the two of them, or 5D's …

"Jack's right. It's not just us. It's this city, it's Team Ragnarok … heck, just the fact that they're involved says that it's not just us. The entire world is depending on us to come through."

* * *

**Author's notes:**

Must ... post ... stop ... tweaking ...

Reviews: Wow, guys, it was almost like Christmas after the last chapter, I got several reviews! Thanks for spoiling me! :) Ithiltari and IHaveAMessedUpSenseOfHumor, thanks much, I'm trying _really_ hard to keep it close to canon, so it's nice to know it's appreciated. MrMyshka, thanks again for the reminder of the "table" scene. That's one from the series that I thought was rather fascinating (I'm rather fond of it, too, I'll admit it) and I've often wondered if they put it in there expressly to push buttons. Finally, x0Francisco0x, not to worry relief from dueling is on the way, but unfortunately there is also more dueling coming, although most of it is not described in this level of detail ... praise the lord! ... Can I hear an "Amen"?

Well, yeah ... hope that wasn't too horrible! Writing dueling scenes is incredibly difficult, but that's where some of the character stuff takes place, so ... there you have it. I had to at least include the Jack/Dragan stuff to resolve Jack's issues, and once you do that, it just seems weird to sluff off the rest of the duel. Right? So, like I said, hope that wasn't too horrible. (And, sorry to say, way too much duel action coming up, we'll see how I can work through it ...)

_Title_: I suppose I should say why I called this "Island of Destiny," which seems a rather obscure reference to me. "Destiny" because of the predestined quality of the duel, of course. But the "island" comes from the idea that everything has changed because of the space/time waves _except_ these two teams and the things that have happened within their lives. So, in this sense, that duel is an "island of destiny" in a changed river of space/time. In a larger sense, the 5D's/Ragnarok duel is an "island of destiny," or a predestined objective, at least for Harald. I still think it's kind of weird and obscure, but I couldn't think up a better title.

Well, really, this is a paraphrase of the duel, with a few extras and a couple of interludes tossed in. Hazzah! You'd think it would be easy to write, but no, actually the opposite.

Next chapter, a break from dueling! (Yay!):

_"You think Bruno's still out helping the others?" asked Jack._

_"If he isn't, I'm sure I can think of something that he can help me with," Yusei said, smiling. "Come hell or high water, I'm going to make this work. Let's get back. I'm dying to have the place to ourselves for a while."_

_"Has that ever happened?" Jack asked, taking a seat on the Wheel of Fortune and putting on his helmet._

_"I don't know. If it has, it's been a long time."_

Some fluff, some angst, see you next time ...


	8. That Inscrutable Devotion

warnings: spoilers ... minor swearing ... references to another story ... dark thematic material ... chitchat

**8. That Inscrutable Devotion  
**

"Do you mind, guys?" said Crow. "I'd like to take a little time this afternoon to go see the kids."

"Not at all," said Yusei. "It's fine. Go ahead."

"You don't mind? I'm taking the Blackbird."

"Nah. We'll look at the D-wheels tomorrow. We have a whole day still before the finals. Let's take it off. I think we're as prepared as we're going to be. Have fun."

Jack and Yusei watched Crow drive off toward Satellite. "You think Bruno's still out helping the others?" asked Jack.

"If he isn't, I'm sure I can think of something that he can help me with," Yusei said, smiling. "Come hell or high water, I'm going to make this work. Let's get back. I'm dying to have the place to ourselves for a while."

"Has that ever happened?" Jack asked, taking a seat on the Wheel of Fortune and putting on his helmet.

"I don't know. If it has, it's been a long time."

The two rode back, going into duel mode simply so that they could race without endangering others. They swapped leads frequently, not competing seriously for once, Jack showing off, doing tricks every time he pulled ahead. Yusei didn't feel serious enough to attempt the super-speed of accel synchro, and he wasn't sure whether he could accomplish it outside of duel conditions anyway.

Yusei loved watching Jack. Were he to admit it, he always had. Even before he watched him learn tricks on the first bicycle he built for Jack, he'd watched him balance along fence tops or climb the outside of buildings like a gibbon. As much as Yusei liked to work with his hands, Jack liked to challenge himself physically, see how far he could push himself, force himself to the edge.

It was good to see Jack enjoying himself for a little while before their final battle.

At last they pulled into Poppo Time. Before Jack could finish shaking his hair out after removing his helmet, Yusei had leapt from his bike and reached him in a few running steps.

"Yusei," Jack said, his lips next to Yusei's ear as Yusei pressed close, "Wait—"

"I can't," he panted. Now that they were here, alone, he wanted everything …

_Now._

"Please," Jack said breathlessly and low. "We should … at least make sure … if you …"

"Huh … right …" It was so hard for him to understand what Jack was talking about, only that Jack was obstructing his hands from their goal. He didn't want to tear his eyes away from Jack to look around, but Jack helped by shoving him gently away.

"I'll be in my room," he said, heading upstairs, "after I knock on all the doors up there."

Yusei sighed, scanning the garage. Quickly, he looked around, calling out. There was no one around.

When he knocked on Jack's door, he heard a laugh. "I know you want to come in," said Jack.

Jack was lying fully clothed on his bed, fully stretched out, with his hands behind his head and his ankles crossed.

"You're still dressed?" asked Yusei.

"Only because I know how much you enjoy undressing me."

Yusei sighed, shaking his head. If only he weren't absolutely right. He thought back to all the times he'd fantasized about unzipping that riding jumper of his before they'd gotten together. Even over the days since they'd returned from Nazca, he'd dreamed about it more often than he cared to admit. Jack also suggested using his room. His room, filled with his scent … that mysterious, ocean-breeze mixture of citrus and subtle spice …

He knows what a sucker I am for that.

Yusei thought happily, he's indulging me. Yusei discarded his jacket and climbed onto the bed on his hands and knees, staring down at Jack. "What are we going to do with you?" he asked.

"If you don't know by now … I do think I might be able to suggest one or two things." Jack reached up and pulled Yusei down into a lingering kiss.

_To kiss or to undress … decisions were such an agony of pleasure!_

Without breaking the kiss, Yusei began slowly unzipping Jack's jumper, sliding a hand underneath the fabric and over the firm flesh of his chest, pushing it over one muscular shoulder.

It was about then that Jack groaned low, his lips finding Yusei's neck. Yusei began to lose awareness of what he was doing, except for the need to drive Jack to the same extreme of desire that he felt.

* * *

Much later, Yusei was lying next to Jack, very close by, his head resting comfortably against Jack's neck, he said, "I know you don't want to talk about this … but can we talk about something serious for a minute?"

"Mm … I'm so relaxed now, do we have to?"

"If you get all tense, I promise I'll make it up to you."

"You might have to relax me all over again, you know."

"Like that's going to bother me!" Yusei nipped playfully at Jack's ear, then settled down. "The thing is … when this thing came up with Dragan and Godwin, you just got all moody and went off on your own like always."

"Yeah? It's my problem."

"Jack … your problems are our problems now, right?"

"This … Godwin's different. When I made my deal with him … Shit, Yusei, do I really have to go into all that?"

"I know. This isn't about how I felt, Jack. I've forgiven you. This is about how you feel. I want you to feel comfortable with letting me help you work through your problems."

"But Yusei, some things I can only work through on my own. Like double tuning."

Yusei smiled to himself. _Yeah … he would have to do things an entirely different way … even transcend himself._

"Even so, we're together now—more or less, anyway—so we should trust each other enough to be able to talk to each other when we're hurting, right?" He waited for a moment. "Right?"

"Yes, but … Yusei, look who's talking. For all that you help people talk through their problems, you don't exactly open up that easily yourself."

Yusei sat up and looked down into Jack's eyes. "Yeah," he admitted. "You're right. I'm not exactly the one to talk, am I? I guess …"

_After you left, Jack, it was hard for me to trust …_

"I guess I need to work on that too. Let's both try harder. Deal?"

Jack looked at Yusei hard, as though considering whether it was worth it. "… I guess I have to," he concluded. "All right. Deal."

"So … did I tell you how good you looked winning the duel yesterday? Crow was really impressed with your burning soul technique."

"Of course he was. All I know, is I needed to win."

"Jack, you gave Dragan his honest duel and validated the previous outcome. about Godwin—"

"Yusei … fine. It just—it bugs me that no matter how often we put that stuff to rest and we—I think it's finally behind me, someone comes up with some new thing he was doing behind my back."

"I guess Godwin's sort of like your … Zero Reverse."

"Yusei, you're not responsible for that."

"I might not be, but my father was."

"Even that … it was Rudger who caused the accident."

"But if the reactor didn't exist … because of my father, because of the project, Zero Reverse was possible. He has to bear that responsibility. And I feel it's my legacy."

"Yusei …"

"Come on, Jack, it's the same for you. What Godwin did isn't your direct responsibility, but because you made a deal with him and he acted on your behalf, you feel a responsibility for his actions. It's called honor. Doing what's right. Godwin … I think he was caught between wanting to do the right thing and wanting everything. Because he lost his brother … he ended up in a dark place."

"He was pretty messed up."

"But, now that I'm thinking about it, he wasn't the only one. He just had to deal with it longer. You know … when we were fighting the Dark Signers, it seems like we were all made to face some pretty dark stuff. I mean … Kiryu made me face my failure to help him, and the twins were separated, and Aki was forced to examine what the Arcadia Movement was really doing …" Yusei paused and looked as deeply into the violet depths of Jack's eyes as he could manage. "Jack, can I ask you something? Something that's probably out of bounds?"

"What are you talking about?"

"A long while ago, before Nazca, there was something … only, it was in connection to Carly so you might want to hit me if I ask—but I have to."

"I don't know what you're getting at."

"You said something about your duel with Carly when she was a Dark Signer. You said that you didn't want Carly to remember that you planned to do something, but you—"

"And you just have to know, don't you?"

"Jack … you don't know—" _what you mean to me?_ Should he really admit that? Or would it just scare him away? "I … I just …"

"You're incredible, Yusei."

"I-I don't know what you mean."

Jack smiled. A little fondly, Yusei thought. "Your prying." He stopped Yusei's protestation with a gentle kiss and said, "You're not going to stop probing until you find out everything, are you?" He closed his eyes for an instant, then looked directly into Yusei's eyes, placing his hand on Yusei's cheek. "You're not going to like this. You have to realize that Carly was … gone …" _Dead_, Yusei thought. _He still has trouble saying it_. "I … I couldn't let her …" He closed his eyes with the effort of verbalizing it—reliving it. "… _die_ … alone … But Carly … She stopped me. She wouldn't let me do it. She … Somehow she knew I had something important to do."

Yusei stared at Jack's face in shock, trying to absorb the enormity of what he was saying.

Jack opened his eyes again. He looked at Yusei carefully, his face gradually filling with concern. "You're not … you're not going to tell … Carly … anyone …"

Yusei snapped out of it. "No … _nononononono_—no, Jack." He hugged Jack tightly, crushing his face to Jack's chest. "I would never break your confidence." He hoped Jack didn't notice the tears he couldn't hold back. Had he really come so close to losing Jack? Did he owe Carly so much?

"Unh … you're going to break a rib!"

"Oh, sorry." Yusei relaxed a little, but he refused to let go. He slid up so that he could lean on Jack's chest and look into his eyes and said, "Promise me you won't ever think of doing something like that again. I don't ever want to contemplate a world without you in it."

"OK, if you insist, I promise. But, Yusei, we still have to face Yliaster."

"And?"

"Of course, we'll beat them, but I'll be taking chances. You can't expect me to—"

"I know who I fell in love with, Jack." He knew that it was part of what made Jack so precious to him. Jack's love of taking risks was breathtaking, his easy mastery of them amazing. He thought back to the time that he realized Jack wasn't invulnerable. "Do you … do you remember when you were attacked by those Insect kids?"

"When we were at Martha's? That was a long time ago. I never remembered the attack, only that I woke up in the infirmary with you looking at me like … huh, kind of like you're looking at me right now."

"You mean, like I suddenly realized how in love with you I was? Like I discovered how awful it would be to lose you?"

"What the—? Is that what—? Hell, Yusei, you sure know how to keep things to yourself."

"You weren't interested in boys," Yusei said simply, closing his eyes and snuggling closer.

"I'm still not interested in boys," he said. "Just you. You're … Yusei." He shrugged.

"And … ?"

"And if I try to analyze it, it makes no sense." Jack shrugged again. "It's like dueling. If I analyze it a little, it gets better, but if I analyze it too much, it gets worse. Big time. Let's not ruin things."

Yusei pulled back and grinned. "Let's not." He leaned in and kissed Jack to make sure that he didn't think about it too much.

But when he pulled away, he saw a hint of concern in Jack's eyes. "You know, Yusei, after—" he began.

"Jack I don't want to think about what happens after the WRGP, OK?" He lay down again, snuggling into Jack's side and closing his eyes. "The entire world might end."

"The world isn't going to end, Yusei. Look at me." Jack rolled onto his side and tipped Yusei's head gently so that their eyes met. "It won't end because it's up to us."

Yusei almost laughed. How could he be so confident?

Pulling Yusei into a hug, Jack said, "I trust you. Besides, you have me. Crow too, but mostly me. Remember when the Signers got together? I let you be the leader because … well, because I wasn't sure I wanted to be a part of that whole thing to start with and, besides, I owed it to you. I was OK with letting you continue with the WRGP because, well, you had to take lead on the bridge being the engineer and all, and with Crow … it was just easier that way. And all that just sort of continued on into the WRGP. It was all supposed to be about proving that Satellite kids were worth something, remember?"

"Heh, yeah, that was a long time ago."

"But when the Ghosts showed up, and then Yliaster … you need it, Yusei. You need to be the one. You're the one who feels responsible. For Zero Reverse, for your father, for Satellite, for everything and everybody. Never mind that none of it is your fault or your responsibility really, it's how you feel. It would be the same as if I'd lost to Dragan, only a million times worse." He shrugged. "You'll win because there's nothing else you can do. So, Yusei, this is for you."

"Geez, Jack, you say it like … like you've stepped back."

"I wouldn't put it that way, but I feel like I've barely started what I need to do. The real work for me will start after the WRGP has ended."

"You … what? But you've come so far already."

"Hnh. I have a long way to go yet."

Yusei looked at him dumbfounded, but refused to ask what he meant. There would be time for that later.

* * *

**Author's notes:**

Even though my muse seems to be lying down on the job (don't know what it is, job stress or something ... usually writing helps me with that), I'm going to go ahead and post a little earlier than I usually would. I just feel like doing it, so there! ;)

x0Francisco0x and KizunaTsudoishi, thanks ever so much for the reviews! Writing the dueling action was super-difficult and it's reassuring that it wasn't completely horrible. I hope this chapter turned out OK, togetherness isn't my forte (I seem to be more the angst & yearning sort for some reason ...!).

On to some notes:

_Bruno's still out helping the others_: As you recall, Bruno and the others were interviewing with Carly (clip show, hurrah!).

_the first bicycle he built for Jack_: Described in _Satisfaction_, chapter 7.

_he's indulging me_: Not so important, but _Satisfaction_ goes more into these (speaking of indulgence!), chapters 12 and 19.

_You said something about your duel with Carly_: Of course, if you watched, you should know what Jack planned to do, but he never told anyone about it, did he? (And Carly didn't remember.) This incident is referenced in _Satisfaction_ chapters 3 and 23, and indirectly in chapter 2.

_when you were attacked by those Insect kids_: This is a reference to my earlier story, _Satisfaction_, chapter 11. A good reason to have read that first! (hint, hint ... ;) )

This is the chapter that references my previous story the most, BTW, in case you're wondering (it wasn't planned that way, it's just the way it turned out).

Preview of chapter 9 ...

_"I see you're admiring the Arc Cradle," said Jose._

_"The what?" asked Yusei. So that's what they called the Final Moment._

_"The Arc Cradle. Tomorrow, when it arrives, Neo Domino City will be destroyed and then rebuilt. The future will be assured at last."_

The great duel-o-rama begins! Honest, I won't bore you with and in-depth play-by-play!


	9. Out of the Frying Pan …

warnings: spoilers ... mild profanity ... lots(!) 'o dueling ... bandages ...

**9. Out of the Frying Pan …**

The day before the finals, Team 5D's stood at the stadium, staring up at the looming Final Moment. "It's closer," commented Jack.

"You're right," said Yusei.

"I wonder why I can't see it?" said Rua, grabbing Ruka's arm. "W-wait! What's th-that … is _that_ the Final Moment?"

"Yes, that's it," said Yusei.

"How could I miss something so big?"

Jaeger arrived behind them with Ushio, Mikage, and Carly in tow. "What are you looking at?" asked Jaeger.

Carly ran to Jack, asking "What's going on?" and touched Jack's shoulder. "Oh!" she cried out in dismay, catching sight of the Final Moment, then let go of Jack and grabbed her camera. Pulling it up for a shot, she realized she couldn't see the strange sight any longer. "Huh?"

"Look, it's your opponents," said Ushio. Indeed, Lucciano, Placido, and Jose had shown up in the stadium.

"What are you doing here?" asked Yusei.

"What, we can't check out the venue before the duel?" asked Placido. "Isn't that what you're doing?"

"I see you're admiring the Arc Cradle," said Jose.

"The what?" asked Yusei. So that's what they called the Final Moment.

"The Arc Cradle. Tomorrow, when it arrives, Neo Domino City will be destroyed and then rebuilt. The future will be assured at last."

"_You—!_" growled Jack.

Before he could go on, Team Ragnarok joined them. They stood staring up at the Arc Cradle.

"The only way to stop the destruction is to defeat Team New World," said Harald. "We've seen it with our rune eyes. We could have done it, but now that you've defeated us, it's up to the Crimson Dragon."

* * *

The next day, Team 5D's got ready for their duel.

Crow pointed to Jaeger's office overlooking the track. "He's already pacing."

"I don't need to see that," said Jack. "He's got more than enough nerves for the two of us."

"You're not nervous at all?"

"Of course not. I plan to beat all three of them myself."

Yusei and Crow exchanged looks. That was Jack all over.

"I'm just tired of all this waiting," Jack continued.

"I'll second that opinion," said Yusei. They were as prepared as they were going to be and it was time that they faced the inevitable. One way or another, it was going to be resolved today. He took a final look at Jack's resolute face and thought, _I wish I could be as confident as he is_.

Yusei handed Jack his 5D's patch, then watched as he slapped it onto his chest, put on his helmet, and drove onto the track.

Team New World sent Lucciano as their first rider, out on his high-tech skateboard. Almost immediately, it was Scar Red Nova Dragon vs Machine Emperor Skiel. Lucciano simultaneously brought out Infinity Spirit Machine and started to pile counters on it, one for each 100 points damage he incurred.

Jack quickly disposed of Lucciano, leaving 40 counters on Infinity Spirit Machine.

Placido came out to face Jack next. The team expected him to reveal his mechanical form and merge with his D-wheel, but that didn't happen.

"What's up with that?" murmured Yusei.

"No idea," said Crow. "They're up to something."

"That's for certain. Lucciano went down far too easily. Jack's much stronger, but not _that_ much."

They watched Placido call out Machine Emperor Wisel on his first turn. "Well, that's no surprise," Crow commented.

Placido put up more of a fight, and after Jack's next turn, his points were cut to 1100, while Placido's were at 500.

Placido, instead of attacking, simply set two cards on his next turn.

"What's his problem?" asked Crow.

"He … Infinity Spirit Machine! It's …" _The number of counters …!_ "The pit board!" Yusei shouted.

Jack caught sight of the pit board and attempted to get rid of Infinity Spirit Machine, but failed, forcing him to take out Placido instead.

Jose took the field in triumph, running at speed and mechanically fusing with his D-wheel. The crowd began to panic a little, frightened by the sight. The infinity symbol appeared, linking the two D-wheels.

"Wait!" Crow said. "Isn't that—"

"It makes the damage real."

"Shit."

Jose immediately played the Bomb Blast Trap, calling forth Machine Emperor Grannel. "Attack and Defense points are equal to my life points," he said. "And after I destroy Infinity Spirit Machine, that's … 12000."

Grannel defeated Jack, absorbing Scar Red Nova Dragon in the process, and sending Jack's D-Wheel flying in a large explosion.

Yusei and Crow gripped each other as though to prevent each other from running onto the track. Yusei felt an adrenalin rush of panic flood through him as he helplessly watched Mikage, Carly, and Stephanie run a gurney out to rush Jack in. Ushio collected the Wheel of Fortune.

The gurney came through the pit area, where Jack handed the 5D's patch to Crow. He was barely conscious as he pushed it into Crow's hand. "Take this and win," he said. Crow squeezed his hand for a bare moment, then Jack was gone, and Crow got onto his D-wheel.

_I'll be taking chances._

That's what he'd said _… _

Ruka and Rua were right there, begging Crow not to fight, but Crow said he'd promised, Jack entrusted this to him. Yusei leaned back against the wall, his arms crossed, trying to push worry from his mind.

_Jack was conscious, he'll be fine. Keep your head in the game, Yusei. You have to help Crow if he needs it. But … _

Would Jack be OK? And how was Crow going to handle this without a special technique? All he had was what an ordinary duelist had and his quick wits.

Out on the track, Crow was wondering the very same thing. He had to figure out some way to neutralize this souped up monster and crack this guy's points. But it seemed that Jose had an answer for everything he tried. Then, when he summoned a new monster as a result of the destruction of one of his monsters, Jose announced that he could attack with his captured monster: Scar Red Nova Dragon. The blow was searing.

_Is this what it's like to absorb a blow from Jack?_

Crow wondered what the hell he could do. He didn't like any of his options. He had the cards to summon Black Feather Dragon, but the only outcome he saw for that was handing it to Jose and leaving Yusei with the prospect of facing both Scar Red Nova Dragon and Black Feather Dragon absorbed into that synchro-eater.

"All right," he said. "I set two cards and end my turn."

That left him with a defense monster and two face-downs.

Jose attacked his defense monster, then taunted, "Why don't you bring out your synchro, Crow?"

"You'd like me to do that, wouldn't you? That would just make Yusei's fight all the harder, facing both our ace monsters."

"But isn't that what humans do, fight each other? Make each other's lives more difficult? Look at the disgusting forms that your synchro monsters take!"

"_Take that back!_" yelled Crow. "Scar Red Nova Dragon is Jack's very soul! I won't listen to you insult him like that!"

Jose attacked Crow directly, enveloping him in a blazing cloud of smoke.

"Is he—?" Aki asked.

But Crow emerged, saying, "The battle phase isn't over! I call on Hiren of the Sudden Gusts effect to call Black Feather Dragon to the field."

"But … why would you do that?" asked Jose. "You have no points."

"We're a team. I trust Yusei to use this card well. You know, humans aren't as selfish as you think."

Crow pulled off the field and handed his patch to Yusei, collapsing. As he joined Jack in the infirmary, Yusei took to the track.

Mikage greeted him in the infirmary, saying, "Jack seemed to sense it when his monster was used to attack you. It seemed to cause him pain."

"That doesn't surprise me," he said. He glanced over at Jack, then looked at the monitor. The damage had been really hard to take. He was worried for Yusei.

Out on the track, Yusei was thinking about Jack and Crow, lying injured in the infirmary. Even if there were nothing else depending on it, he knew he would have to win this duel for them.

There was an exchange in which Yusei lost Black Feather Dragon, but was able to bring out Stardust Dragon in defense mode with zero points.

Jose waved his arm and a giant infinity symbol glowed in the sky. As if in answer, Yusei's sign glowed.

Suddenly, he was no longer on his D-wheel. He was floating above the ruin of New Domino City along with the rest of 5D's, Rua, and Bruno. Jack and Crow were wrapped in bandages … so many that Yusei was momentarily concerned, but then his attention was drawn away by Jose. They were shown visions of the Yliaster three: tales of loss and loneliness.

He went on to show how all this happened. Dueling and D-wheeling became more and more popular and linked inextricably with Momentum. And as this happened, the duel evolved more and more quickly, eventually causing a collapse in the system. At last the synchro monsters turned on their creators and everything was destroyed.

Shocked, Crow said, "Can this be true? Did everyone … everyone die? Did Jose end up alone like he showed us?"

Jack looked at him and said, "Can our future lead us to destruction after all? This …"

"I refuse to believe that's our future," Yusei stated. "I'll prove to you that the future is in our hands!"

With that, Yusei found himself back in the duel. Energized, he performed Accel Synchro. He could not fail. Drawing five tuners out of five cards, he attacked five times, destroying Machine Emperor Grannel.

Jose set two cards and then announced the arrival of the Devil of Despair. With that, Lucciano and Placido merged with him mechanically, forming a final robotic entity, Aporia.

"Thank you, Yusei," Aporia said. "With your help, the Circuit is almost complete!" With that, he summoned Machine Divine Emperor Machinecle Infinity Cubic. The very summoning of the monster set off a dangerous electrical storm. Yusei cannot stop the new monster from absorbing Shooting Star Dragon.

Aporia began to describe how he was divided into three and once again Team 5D's found themselves suspended above the ruins of Neo Domino City. He had been an old man who had thought he was the lone human survivor in all the world. But at last he was approached by three robed figures. They took him to a tower and explained that it was Momentum's negative energy that caused the disaster. When he agreed to join the mission, Aporia requested to be divided into three symbols of despair: the heart who lost those who loved him, the heart who lost those he loved, and the heart who lost all hope.

Team 5D's stared at Aporia, aghast. How could he dedicate himself to such a thing?

"Our plan is ultimately to erase Neo Domino City and therefore its Momentum. That's how we will restore humanity's future."

With that, Aporia called down a huge bolt of lightning, which struck the raised road in front of Yusei, destroying the road. Both of them were forced off of the duel track and onto the regular highway with traffic.

_This is bad!_ thought Yusei. _I have to lure him away from civilians!_

Aporia sacrificed Shooting Star Dragon to deal damage to Yusei, but Yusei managed to destroy it, recalling Stardust Dragon to his field.

Back in the infirmary, Jack pulled the IV out of his arm. "That's_ it!_" he exclaimed. "I'm getting up. No way I'm letting Yusei do this without at least moral support. He's on regular roads now, for cripes sake!"

"If you're going, I'm going!" said Crow, pushing himself up. "He needs all the support he can get."

Yusei fended off an attack with Scrap Iron Scarecrow as he headed toward the BAD Zone in Satellite.

"No matter," said Aporia. "I can send an absorbed monster to the grave and deal damage to you directly."

"Yusei!"

At the familiar voice, Yusei looked over his shoulder to see Jack and Crow arriving.

"Get out of here! You're hurt!"

"No way! We'll always be around to help you fight for our future no matter what!" shouted Jack.

"Don't worry, we're here for moral support. We'll be all right!" yelled Crow.

_Help … damn!_ thought Yusei. _Jack's face-down. I almost forgot it. That … it's about us, about our team._ He smiled to himself. _We're even stronger together. If I use this, I can't lose!_

Yusei played Jack's card, Revenge Twin Soul, but Aporia managed to destroy by sacrificing a card.

A flurry of moves and counter-moves ensued. Yusei managed to bring out Shooting Star Dragon, Scar Red Nova Dragon, and Black Feather Dragon, but Aporia caused his machine emperor to absorb Scar Red Nova Dragon and Black Feather Dragon, pumping its points up to 10300.

After all this, Aporia sacrificed both synchros, but Yusei managed to negate both attacks. But then Aporia activated Mad Feast to re-absorb both of them and simultaneously inflict 2400 points of damage.

_Damn! If I take damage like this next turn, I'm going to lose!_ thought Yusei.

"Yusei … What the hell! Don't space out on me now! Don't you know there's nothing he can do to break our bond?"

"What … Jack?" _Our bond …_ Yusei looked back at Jack and Crow, both of them looking so resolute and thought, _That's how all the rest of them must look back in the pit, too. But Jack's also talking about us, isn't he? There's the two of us, and our team, and our city, and … the world. All of us. But especially Team 5D's_._ Jack, thank you._ He closed his eyes for a split second, letting himself feel the power flow from his sign up through him.

_That's it._

_Because of the summoning requirements of my synchros, I can destroy them all simultaneously, then I can re-summon them!_

Quickly, he'd turned the tables and pulled the parts off of the machine emperor one by one. At last, Aporia's points were down to zero.

Yusei, Jack, and Crow turned their D-wheels to a halt as Aporia crashed, flaming, into the bay. The Arc Cradle disappeared from the sky and the sun came out.

Relieved, Yusei turned back toward Neo Domino City with Jack and Crow.

_Why is it that even though I doubt myself, Jack never does? He always seems to expect more from me than I do from myself._

_He brings out the best in me …_

"We did it, Jack, Crow," Yusei said as they drove back toward the stadium. "Can you believe it?"

"Of course I can," said Jack.

"Brace for it," Crow said.

"What?" asked Yusei.

"The celebration, of course!"

They returned to joyous throngs and near-bedlam. Jaeger distributed bottles of Champagne for them to splash over each other.

But their celebration was interrupted by an earthquake. Jack stepped out into the arena and looked up at the sky. "What the hell is that?!" he exclaimed, pointing.

A crack appeared in the sky and then it opened, revealing a dark, night sky behind the blue. The gap opened, and the Arc Cradle reappeared through it.

"This makes no sense!" Jack objected. "Wasn't our victory supposed to prevent this very thing?!"

"Don't ask me!" Crow yelled at him. "How am I supposed to know?!"

Yusei looked up at the broken sky, musing, "Arc Cradle, the Final Moment of mankind …"

Jaeger ran up to them. "The Public Maintenance Bureau has important information about this situation. Please, come with me." Mizoguchi went with them, as did Ushio and Mikage.

"Carly, you and Stephanie need to stay behind," said Mikage.

"What about my story?" Carly wailed after them.

"Please find a safe place to stay outside of the city!" Jack called after them.

Jaeger led them into the security communications room, where he informed them that the power of Momentum had fallen 30% already and would be drained completely if the trend continued.

As they discussed the situation, the power went out and emergency power cut in.

"This is terrible!" said Jaeger, looking out the window. "Transportation depends on ener-D. The roads have come to a standstill. How are we supposed to evacuate the city now?"

Akutsu called in from the Momentum control room. "We have determined the cause of the problem with the Momentum reactor, sir. The Arc Cradle has its own Momentum reactor containing a planetary gear with an opposite rotation. This opposing rotation affects normal Momentum, creating a minus rotation."

"But this is the very problem that caused Zero Reverse!" exclaimed Yusei.

"Exactly," said Akutsu. "By my calculations, that is what will happen. The Arc Cradle is dropping, simultaneously affecting the Momentum reactor with its negative rotation, and when it reaches us, there will be a huge explosion. I estimate we have … approximately 12 hours."

* * *

Yusei looked out the window. They had won the WRGP, yet the Arc Cradle still loomed over them.

_How could this be? It just didn't seem fair or right._

No wonder Jack was so angry. He was such a creature of honor, and this outraged every fiber of it.

Jaeger, behind him, was urging everyone to evacuate to safety while he stayed behind to coordinate.

_So the little clown has some backbone after all._

Ushio told him that they'd be on the streets aiding in the evacuation.

Bruno sat at a console, training cameras on the Arc Cradle to get closeup views.

"Look there," said Jack, pointing.

"That—its the Daedalus Bridge!" said Crow.

"Yes," agreed Yusei. "It's unmistakable." But the twisted form hung down from the upside-down island.

"Do you think that there's a way they can be stopped?" asked Jack.

"There may be," said Yusei. "I'd have to take a look at the machinery itself. But how the hell can we get there?"

The three of them looked at each other, when movement below caught their eye.

"Look down there. D-wheels," said Crow.

"Team Ragnarok!" exclaimed Yusei.

They ran down as quickly as they could.

"How is it that your D-wheels are working?" asked Yusei.

"It's simple enough," said Harald, pointing to his glowing rune eye.

"Of course! Let's see if we can use our D-wheels!"

Jack was on the Wheel of Fortune in a flash, his sign glowing. "Yes! No problem!" he said as it hummed to life.

As Yusei checked out his own D-wheel and found it in perfect working condition, he received a signal on his comm. "Sherry?"

"Don't board the Arc Cradle, Yusei. I've seen the future. If you come here, you will die."

* * *

**Author's notes:**

2/8/2013: clarification of author's note

Hey guys, you do know how super-awesome you are, don't you? You made my week with your reviews! I'm going to confess, at work it was horribly gruesome & super-stressful, but you made it all better, believe me. I'm motivated to get through the difficult saving-the-world stuff and back to the relationship stuff which is (let's face it) more the focus of the story. ;) Thanks to everyone, KizunaTsudoishi for your unwavering support, CrimsonShootingStar7 for a huge boost when I really needed it, and of course x0Francisco0x for loving the togetherness (I try!). As I said, there might have been a semi-argument in the last chapter, but things were much more strained between them in _Satisfaction_!

Anyway, motivated, so I'm not going to wait a week, I'm posting chapter 9 now! Chapter 10 is waiting in the wings, ready for its final look (hint, hint). BTW, I have a little JxY piece that's pretty light, kind of a piece of farce/fluff, I've been holding it back, but it's almost finished. I might be persuaded to post for Christmas ... if I'm asked really nicely ... ;) I really should wait, though, because my other stuff has a way to go.

_The duel_: OK, I can't resist a little commentary about this because it bugs me every single time I see it. After Taiyou and everything, we're somehow expected to believe that Jack, who supposedly has great duel instincts, and Yusei, who has a great head for strategy, both somehow overlook a card that has tokens piling up on it like there's no tomorrow? Getting rid of that thing would be my first order of business and I'm a dueling dunce. Just sayin'. I can't help wondering if the writers took a breather after the Ragnarok duel ... then it gets difficult, but still. Tokens on a spell card? Through two players and 8000 points?

5D's the series: I have to comment here about the 4Kids/American version of the series, which cuts off here with the defeat of Aporia. It leaves out quite a bit, needless to say. Fortunately, it doesn't have to explain some things which were excised (Sherry's disappearance, for example) but it also didn't explain some things that weren't (notably the mystery of Bruno). Furthermore, it has the signs disappear from 5D's arms, which I think undercuts some of the message of the series. The signs are a physical representation of the bond between 5D's and the disappearance of the sign is almost like a symbol that the bond is dissolving, in my opinion. If you watch the series, this is certainly not the case. Furthermore, if the sign disappears right after they "win," it seems a bit unfair to Rua, no? Oh well, enough said on this point, please view the original. In the series they disappear after the final duel, during 5D's final ride ... and I'm not entirely happy with that either.

Preview of chapter 10 ...

_He felt the blow right in his chest, like a sledgehammer to his heart. He didn't even recall hitting the floor._

_Gradually, Jack became aware of his surroundings again, a flashing red light … Oh, that's that apparatus. It's telling me that I'm under 1000 points._

_As though underwater, he heard Aporia's voice. "… as good as dead already."_

_Jack struggled to his feet, straining against the ankle shackle. "I'm not dead yet," he said. "Do you think that something like that is enough to take me down?"_

_Yeah, I say that, but … _

5D's fight together even though they are separated.


	10. … Into the Fire

warnings: spoilers ... profanity ... more dueling ... children in mortal danger (hey, it wasn't _my _idea!) ...

**10. … Into the Fire**

"Don't board the Arc Cradle, Yusei," said Sherry. "I've seen the future. If you come here, you will die."

"Die? How? Who the hell showed you such a vague future?!" Crow demanded.

"Z-One, the master of the Arc Cradle. He's the man that we met in the other dimension."

_The man … the man with the … that man, hidden in machinery, the man with the deep blue eye—the eye that matched his own! The eye filled with an odd intelligence!_

A shiver thrilled up Yusei's spine.

"What Z-One is doing is righteous, Yusei. Don't try to stop him," Sherry continued.

"How can you even say that?! I can't believe you're willing to destroy Neo Domino City and kill thousands—no, millions!"

"Those lives are a sacrifice that will save _billions_ of lives—including yours, Yusei!" Sherry replied. "You need to know that I'm not here as a hostage. I'm here by choice and if you come here, I'll do everything I can to kill you myself!"

"You're our enemy, then?" said Jack.

"Yes. My concept of the future has changed."

"Fine." The communication ended and Jack turned to Yusei. "There's no use trying to reason with her."

Yusei stared up at the Arc Cradle. "Well, there must be _some_ way of getting up there. Why else would Sherry tell us about this vision and warn me not to come?"

"But I don't want you to go!" Rua wailed. "I don't want you to die!"

"Me either!" cried Ruka.

Jack seized Rua roughly by his collar and growled, "Stop that selfish whining! I'll stop that vision from coming true myself! Don't worry, I'll see to it that Yusei doesn't die!"

"Wait, Jack!" Yusei said, trying to calm him. "Be careful."

_Rua's just a kid!_

"Jack! Put Rua down!" Jaeger insisted.

Jack relented, but turned away, sullen and angry.

Rua started crying, quickly joined by Ruka. Yusei knelt down, promising, "I won't die," as the two threw themselves around his neck. Aki turned away as the two cried their hearts out on his shoulder. He glanced over at Jack, but he didn't turn around. _This has to be hard for him too_, Yusei thought sadly. _And still he's supporting me. I wish I could comfort him_.

He could use a hug from Jack for himself, actually.

* * *

Yusei sat at a table in the cafeteria by himself. Jack was good enough to stay behind to help distract the others, sensing that he needed time to himself.

Sometimes it was nice that Jack was a loner. He knew what it was to need a moment alone.

He sat sipping coffee and thinking about his vision. _My father didn't want me to get close to the Final Moment, but I don't see any way around it. This thing has to be stopped and who else is there who can do it? Someone with technical knowledge has to get up there. I can't let a repeat of Zero Reverse occur … and this would be even worse._

"Can I interrupt for a minute? It's important."

"Harald?" Team Ragnarok stood by his table looking deadly serious. "Of course." He motioned for them to sit, but they remained standing.

"I think that we've figured out a way you can get to the Arc Cradle," said Harald. "That _is_ what you're thinking of doing, isn't it?"

"I'm listening."

"Good," he said, and pulled a card from his deck. "This is the Rainbow Bridge Bifrost, the legendary bridge between this world and the world of the gods. We think that we can use it to create a bridge between the city and the Arc Cradle."

Yusei was fascinated. "How do you do that?" _A card? Interesting._

"We need to use the combined power of our Three Polar Gods with our D-wheels, plus Momentum."

"Momentum? But—"

"Not this one—"

Yusei caught on. "Satellite. The one with minus rotation."

"Exactly."

"Thank you." Yusei called Bruno. "Do you think you can sneak out of there without the others noticing? … Good. Bring tools and meet me down where my D-wheel is parked. … Yes. Thanks, Bruno. … And thank you, guys."

"No problem. It's our destiny to help."

_Destiny again …_

"You guys sure love destiny."

* * *

A little later in the control room, Jack leaned over Bruno's station, trying to figure out what it was that he was doing. For once he wished he was a nerd. If he were, he could help Yusei somehow instead of feeling useless.

All that whining from the twins had set him on edge. Wasn't it bad enough that Sherry had to contact them with that stupid prediction? To have those two bawling openly and Aki sniveling made things even worse. He glanced over toward Crow, who was looking at views of the Arc Cradle on the monitors looking grim.

_It's not like the two of us are happy about the situation. You think we don't feel like crying? We can't just break down. We have to support Yusei. We have work to do! We can't just lay down and die because someone tries to scare us!_

Jack wasn't even going to allow the possibility of the prediction being true to enter his mind. He wouldn't allow it to come true. Even if the rest of them gave up, he'd save Yusei even if he had to carry the rest of 5D's on his back to do it.

He sighed, reminding himself that the twins were just kids and Aki didn't understand how strong she was. _I guess I'll just never get what it is with her_, he thought.

As if Jack's random thought nudged her, Aki suddenly noticed something.

"Isn't that Yusei on his D-wheel?!" asked Aki, pointing.

"He's headed toward Satellite!" Jack shouted. He clicked on the comm. "Where do you think you're going?!"

"I'm on my way to Satellite, Jack. Don't follow me. I'm handling this alone."

"Oh no you're not! I won't let you!" Jack sprang up and began running for his D-wheel. "What the fuck is he thinking?!" he muttered as he scrambled out the door. "He's the one always harping on our damn bonds!"

"We're all going, Jack!" Crow yelled, appalled, jumping up to follow. "Don't you leave without us!" He paused, looking toward Mizoguchi. "I promise, I'll bring Sherry back to you." Then he dived for the door.

* * *

In Satellite, Yusei found the old Momentum control room.

_This is so weird_, thought Yusei. _I feel like I'm taking the very same path as Godwin!_

"Bruno, get out of here and back to safety. I'll take it from here." He watched Bruno leave, hoping that he could put some distance in before things got too dangerous. "All right, Team Ragnarok, you can start now."

They started their D-wheels, activated their Polar gods, and then activated the Rainbow Bridge card. A brilliant path of light sprang forth into the sky.

As he prepared to mount it, Yusei saw the rest of his team drive up, Jack alone, Aki with Ruka and Crow with Rua.

"Look, we don't know what danger is up there. I'm going alone."

"Oh, please!" said Jack. "I can't stop you from going, but how do you think you're going to stop me? We're going no matter how you abandon us. I'm not going to let you die whatever is supposed to have happened in the future."

There was a general hum of agreement behind him.

Yusei sighed. There was no time to argue. He headed out onto the bridge. As they rode up, Yusei noticed they were joined by the mysterious Vizor. Strange he should show up.

They reached their destination just in time, the bridge vanishing behind them.

"Who the hell are you?" Jack asked Vizor.

"I'm here to search for important memories I've misplaced," he said.

Before Jack could ask him what he meant by that, the floor opened up below them and they dropped into empty space, D-wheels and all.

* * *

They landed, finding themselves fortunate not to fall further, but they were separated, suspended over a huge open space. Yusei found himself with Vizor, Crow with Aki, and Jack with Ruka and Rua. Ruka hadn't quite made it and was barely hanging on, Rua holding on to her hand with both of his. Jack quickly yanked both of them to safety.

Vizor said, "Each of these paths leads to a planetary gear. We must get to the gear and stop it. Then we can meet at the central gear to stop the minus rotation."

_How the hell does he know all this?_ thought Jack. He was concerned that this Vizor was with Yusei, but there was nothing he could do about it. Yusei could handle himself, after all, and someone had to make sure the twins got through this.

Crow got on his D-Wheel and said, "Yusei, you'd better not die on us." He turned and started out with Aki.

"It looks like we have our mission," said Jack, looking at the twins, who nodded their heads in agreement. He immediately mounted the Wheel of Fortune and the twins got out their skateboards and held onto the sides.

Eventually they arrived at the planetary gear. Jack alit from the Wheel of Fortune and examined the faces of the twins. They were wide-eyed.

_They're just kids, and Rua's not even a Signer. This may be too much to ask._

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm afraid," admitted Rua, "but my fear is nothing compared to Yusei's. Sherry told him he's going to die."

"Don't even think about that. That future is false. Didn't we come here to prove it?"

_We haven't even dueled again yet, Yusei. We haven't made plans. Don't you dare die on me._

At this moment, Aporia appeared from behind the gear machinery.

"Aporia! Aren't you—?"

"I've been given another chance. If you beat me in this duel, the planetary gear will halt. I determined that my failure in the previous duel resulted from my dependence on my despair to fuel my victory, so I asked Z-One to drain all emotion from me. Now I duel simply as a machine."

Three mechanical apparatus flew out, fastening themselves on the chests of Jack and the twins, over their hearts. "What the hell?!" Jack exclaimed. Before he could recover, though, he felt a pinch at his left ankle. Instinctively yanking it forward, he found it shackled to the floor. The twins were similarly bound.

Aporia explained that their lives were in the balance of the duel.

Jack did not like this at all. Endangering the lives of kids for this? Well, it would do no good to protest. "Ruka, Rua, remember that we're dueling for 5D's. Neo Domino City is depending on us."

Rua looked fired up, but Ruka looked worried. "Don't worry, Ruka," said Rua. "I'll protect you."

Jack gave them an encouraging smile, but inwardly he was worried. If it were Yusei on his team, he could relax, but this way, he had to act as coach as well as duelist. He momentarily wondered what Yusei would think of that. Yusei probably wouldn't like it at all. _He probably doesn't think I'm good with kids at all when I'm not showing off._

This situation was definitely not to his advantage. With these delightful thoughts foremost in his mind, he drew his cards.

Things quickly went south. Rua's initial attempts to help did anything but.

Jack couldn't stand seeing the children inflicted with real damage. Ruka, in particular, seemed unable to bear up under it. "Aporia! Let them go!" he demanded. "Let me fight you alone!"

But his words fell on deaf ears. _What more can you expect from a machine?_ he thought.

Jack was able to call forth Red Demon's Dragon almost immediately, but Rua's attempt to power him up enabled Aporia to render him powerless.

Rua broke down crying.

"Stand up!" Jack said harshly. "You're not the only one suffering here!"

_Damn, that kid needs to grow up and fast or we're done for_, he thought. _Is my life going to be in the hands of some kid who's always led a cush life in Tops?_

Aporia's turn was coming up. Jack braced for it, thinking that he didn't have much defense for his dragon, and sure enough, he took the hit, his points dwindling to 700.

He felt the blow right in his chest, like a sledgehammer to his heart. He didn't even recall hitting the floor.

Gradually, Jack became aware of his surroundings again, a flashing red light … _Oh, that's that apparatus. It's telling me that I'm under 1000 points_.

As though underwater, he heard Aporia's voice. "… as good as dead already."

Jack struggled to his feet, straining against the ankle shackle. "I'm not dead yet," he said. "Do you think that something like that is enough to take me down?"

_Yeah, I say that, but … _

He felt pretty damn unsteady. "Don't abandon hope yet," he said. He swallowed, panting.

He sent his thoughts desperately toward Rua. _Pull it together, kid! I need you to find your courage and duel!_

But Rua was too afraid of making a mistake and ended his turn.

"Rua …" Jack said. He cringed. The effect of Aporia's card was going to take Ruka down to 100 points. Another turn and she'd be …

Watching that, he said, "How can you go so far against a child?!"

"To make you give up. To make you taste the despair I knew."

"I refuse to do that." He frowned, looking at his hand. It was nearly impossible, but there was one hope in there. He played Clock Resonator, taking 600 points damage in penalty. The pain was excruciating, but he still had 100 points life left, and Clock Resonator was a machine-type monster, which would prevent him from taking automatic damage each turn.

_Rua, get my message. Please. I still have hope. You _can_ do it. You can save us._

Rua gave him a look as Aporia started his turn.

At last, Rua started to go into action, defending Jack. Rua then took his turn and managed to summon both Power Tool Dragon and Ancient Fairy Dragon along with Lighton.

But the effects of Aporia's cards drained Rua's life points in the process.

Jack watched helplessly as Rua entrusted Ancient Fairy Dragon to Ruka and passed out.

"Wait a minute!" Jack said, realizing. "The effect of Lighton is … if your life points go to zero and it turns green, you get 100 more life points." He watched breathlessly.

Green.

Jack watched in amazement as his sign came to life and Rua got up. Rua tuned Lighton to Power Tool Dragon to summon Life Stream Dragon.

_Life Stream Dragon?_ Jack's sign burned on his arm. _This—!_ He stared at Rua. A new sign gradually appeared on Rua's right arm.

Aporia started to lose it, going on that synchro summoning was unforgivable.

_Unforgivable? _thought Jack._ How about killing little innocent kids?! How about trapping them into duels to the death?!_

Life Stream Dragon gave them all points back to 2000. Aporia claimed this was nothing, but Jack felt like he'd crawled back from death's doorstep. "Rua turned our despair to hope," he rejoiced. "What do you think the evolution into a signer is?" _Calling that feat nothing? Give me a break!_

Rua attacked Aporia's dragon. Aporia saved his dragon, but took damage.

_Funny, he seemed to suffer from that blow_. "What happened?" asked Jack, pushing the advantage. "Did you regain your heart?"

Ruka managed to destroy the field spell that suppressed synchro summoning.

"Are you trying to make me taste despair again?" Aporia asked.

_He doesn't sound like a machine now_. Jack drew. _Yes_. He could summon Scar Red Nova Dragon now. With Ruka and Rua's help, he had enough to win the duel.

_I need to show you. I must._

"Why is it that attacks from humans hurt so much?" Aporia asked. "Is it despair?"

"What you feel, Aporia, is your _hope_. Your bond with Z-One gives you hope that you will prevail."

_I hope Yusei will prevail. I _know_ he will._

_That's _my_ bond.  
_

The gear started to fall apart and he grabbed the twins and sprinted for the Wheel of Fortune.

_This day just doesn't end!_

* * *

Yusei rode with Vizor, finally reaching their planetary gear.

He dismounted, looking around. "As I understand it, we should encounter someone who will defend the gear," he said.

But there was no one.

Vizor turned. "I am your opponent," he said.

"You … what?"

"I remember everything."

"You … What do you remember?"

"I remember Z-One. I remember being sent to teach you Accel Synchro. I remember being sent to join your team and improve your D-wheels. I remember—"

"What? _Bruno?!_" Yusei couldn't take it. "You betrayed us?! I don't understand. Why would Z-One send you to-to help us?! It makes no sense!"

"My name is not Bruno. I'm Antimony. All I did was what was necessary. I let Z-One remove all my memory so that I could act completely honestly as your friend. You don't understand. A circuit needed to be completed and powered on your side for the Arc Cradle to be brought across. We needed you, your team, Yusei, to power that circuit. _Your_ duels, _your_ effort, provided the energy to bring the Arc Cradle through the dimensional barrier. _You_ made this possible. Every time you slacked off, we challenged you and you, Jack, Crow, you rose to the challenge every single time. When I needed to be Bruno, that's who I was, and when I needed to be Vizor and teach you Accel Synchro, that's who I became."

"This … this is …"

Yusei couldn't comprehend it. _How could this be 5D's fault?! They'd worked against this very thing tirelessly! How could he come back and rub this in his face?! How could he come back wearing Bruno's face and tell him these horrible things?!_

"I can't fight you, Bruno!" he cried out. The pain was intolerable.

"Antimony. If you cannot, then you can't protect anyone," Antimony said.

Yusei closed his eyes. "Let's duel," he said.

They began a riding duel on a field of stars, driving on a strip of light. "Only one of us will make it out of this field," said Antimony.

As they dueled, Antimony revealed his past as a riding duelist. He'd revered the synchro and was horrified when the synchro turned on humanity and destroyed it. Finally, during the synchro apocalypse he stopped before one of the monsters to submit himself to the fate of his destruction, only to be saved by the legendary Yusei Fudo … only it wasn't Yusei, it was Z-One. The two of them were joined by Paradox and Aporia to research how to save their world. Eventually Z-One was the lone survivor. "The rest of us are merely ghosts," he admitted.

Z-One created machine versions of his friends, Antimony becoming Bruno and Aporia taking on three aspects of despair. "Now it's only a matter of time until the Arc Cradle descends," said Antimony. "It was my mission to make you evolve. I did that, and now it's time to dispose of you."

"So you think I'm just a gear in your machine?" spat Yusei. "Don't assume so much! You betrayed all of 5D's, all your friends. What hope can come from such an act?!"

He called on his bonds and performed an Accel Synchro, calling Shooting Star Dragon.

"You think that's impressive? It's nothing. Let me show you something interesting," Antimony said. Bringing three synchros to the field, he announced "Top Clear Mind," and tuned them in a Delta Accel Synchro.

The explosion was massive. The super nova created a black hole on the field as Halberd Cannon was summoned.

Yusei struggled to defend himself and work out a strategy. _Why is it that Antimony predicts my moves so well?_ he thought. It came to him quickly. They dueled very much alike. It was his logic. _This means … this means I can't duel like myself, I have to duel more like __ …_ this means I need to take a chance. I need to pull the right card so that I can attack.

Yusei did it, taking out the remainder of Antimony's points. But they were still racing to overcome the pull of the black hole of the field spell.

_Why didn't it disappear once the duel was over?!_

"You know," said Antimony, "I did rather hope you'd be able to transcend your limitations after all and beat me. But I did say only one of us would survive this duel."

"Antimony—"

He felt a push to the back of his D-wheel, then it crashed onto the surface of the planetary gear. He rolled, looking back, but there was nothing to look back at. The duel field was gone.

"Antimony …"

But it was no use. Antimony was gone.

* * *

**Author's notes ...**

... and thousands of toolshipper fantasies were born ...

Is it already Friday? I'd planned on posting this earlier, but this week was, well, brutal, to put it mildly. I feel like my D-wheel just crashed. Is this the holiday season? Isn't this supposed to be the season of "good will toward man"? Hm ... Well, putting _that_ behind me! Honest, if you have love to show me this week, please do, I think maybe I'll try to post through the WRGP through the holidays. (If you hate this, please don't let me know, right now I really don't want to know. Thanks!)

CrimsonShootingStar7, I'm so glad you like my descriptions - figuring out what to put in, leave out & add is a difficult balance. Aw, KizunaTsudoishi, you're so sweet for saying I deserve more reviews! "Feel like watching the anime again! XD" Thanks! I'm glad I inspired that, it's well worth going back to take another view. I sure enjoyed going back to research (despite all the note taking!), although, I'll admit, each time I go over the last part of the WRGP I'm a little disappointed that Jack doesn't play a larger role (it is obvious that he's my favorite character, so I might as well admit it). Even though the role he plays is key. I guess they make up for it by playing him up afterward, so I can't complain ... too much! ;)

I keep forgetting to put spoilers in the warnings for spoiler chapters! I went back and added them; I hope that is helpful. It's in the description, but it doesn't hurt to make sure.

Note that since this is primarily Jack and Yusei's story, I'm not dramatizing Crow's and Aki's duel directly. I hope that's not a problem!

And now, a sneak peek at chapter 11 ...

_During this exchange, the damage cracked Z-One's mask revealing an ancient face bearing a criminal mark identical to Yusei's own. _

_"Who are you, anyway?" Yusei demanded._

_"I am your future self, Yusei."_

Yusei duels ... himself? -Ish?


	11. The Cradle Will Fall

warnings: spoilers, profanity, more(!) dueling, verbose notes

**11. The Cradle Will Fall**

Yusei drove to the main gear in a somber mood.

It was strange to get there and see Rua so damn happy. "Do you see I'm a signer now?" he cried, showing Yusei his arm.

Yusei managed a wan smile and congratulations as Jack proudly said, "You should have been there!" He expected a full play-by-play later.

"Sherry. Glad to see you're here."

She nodded.

"Wasn't there someone with you?" asked Aki.

"Yeah," he said. "Bruno. He was protecting the last planetary gear." There was general surprise and upset, but Yusei raised a hand. "He showed me Delta Accel Synchro."

"Delta Accel Synchro," Jack echoed.

"Yes. I think it can help maybe. And … I forgot to mention, he died for us."

"He—_what?!_" exclaimed Jack.

"I don't believe it!" said Crow. "Bruno wouldn't protect the gear."

"One thing is clear," said Jack. "We need to fight Z-One to revenge our friend."

"In any case, we mustn't wait," said Yusei. They continued inward, catching sight of the reverse Momentum as they went.

At last they entered a ruined area. There they were welcomed by the bizarre spiral machine that encased Z-One.

Jack eyed the thing with suspicion. _There's a man in there somewhere? He looks less human than those ghosts!_

"I don't understand why you're here, Sherry," Z-One said.

"I am here out of my own sense of justice," she said.

"You there!" Jack said. "You have no right to say anything about our future!"

Crow added his voice, saying "We'll see to it that Neo Domino City lives on!"

"How dare you use Antimony!" said Yusei. "The Antimony I know would never give up hope for the future! Neither will I."

"Fool, don't you understand that Antimony was just a tool to be used?"

"Everyone's suffered just as much as Bruno."

"Let's settle this with a duel. If you win, the main gear will halt and the Arc Cradle will disappear. If not … well."

"Wait! I'll be your opponent." It was Aporia, damaged, but operable. "I've found my reason to live. In my duel, I discovered hope. Where is Antimony now? He's in the Arc Cradle—the Neo Domino City of the future. We all are. All we can do is hope that the future can be changed. My hope for that lies with 5D's. Duel me."

"Very well, for all the good it will do you."

"Yusei. Watch closely."

They watched the duel. Z-One defeated Aporia with ease, but he revealed his strategy. He had traps that he could play directly from his hand and Temporal Machine God cards that had ridiculously powerful effects.

At the end, they ran to Aporia, who apologized for his failure.

"No, how can you say you failed?!" said Yusei. "You revealed the Temporal Machine Gods and that they have ten forms."

Aporia tossed the machine console that accompanied him toward Yusei's D-wheel and it somehow merged with the machine.

Rua looked at Aporia, realizing that he had expired. He turned on Z-One. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded. "Wasn't he supposed to be your friend?!"

"You don't understand. These three were just copies of my friends, made with their consent to assist me in restoring our future. But, obviously, as it turns out, they're imperfect."

"Still," said Yusei, "Aporia and Antimony thought of you as their friend. It's time for us to duel."

"I accept. The field of battle shall be the sky." With that, he opened the ceiling, revealing darkness and the looming Neo Domino City, upside down from their current perspective in the Arc Cradle.

Jack grabbed his extra deck and pulled out his most precious card.

"Yusei, quickly, take Red Demon's Dragon, and with it, my will," he said, offering Yusei his card. As Yusei took it, their eyes met. From the spark Jack caught within the dark blue depths, he knew Yusei could feel the hot flash of energy that transferred along with it. His other teammates followed, giving him their dragons, and as they did, Jack could almost see their warm spirits move along with the cards. Then Yusei took to the sky on pink, glowing wings provided by Aporia's machine.

"Yusei," said Z-One, spiraling out into the sky around the Arc Cradle, "all this time that you thought you were making your own choices, carving out your own path into the future, you were merely walking a path I had carefully drawn out for you. I might as well be your god. Admit it. Zero Reverse, all your victories, everything can be attributed to me."

"What the fuck?" Crow grumbled. "Is he saying that our lives are in his hands?"

"He has one hell of a nerve," muttered Jack.

"I don't care what you say," Yusei replied. "Whatever path we walked, our feelings were real. Even if you are a god, I'll find a way to surpass you."

"If you have the power to change the future, beat me!" Z-One brought summoned a Temporal Machine God, Metaion.

Yusei took a moment, then called forth both Black Feather Dragon and Red Demon's Dragon. Then he waited.

_He's uncertain of Metaion_, Jack thought.

"Because the Temporal Machine God can only remain on the field one turn, you're waiting until my field is empty, are you?" asked Z-One. "I used to be like that."

"Yusei's using a sink-or-swim approach," Jack commented softly.

Crow responded, "He's going to survive until the field opens? I don't think I could do that."

After a couple of exchanges, Yusei summoned Black Rose Dragon and called upon its card destruction effect, managing to protect his own cards. During this exchange, the damage cracked Z-One's mask revealing an ancient face bearing a criminal mark identical to his own.

"Who _are_ you, anyway?" Yusei demanded.

"I am your future self, Yusei. In the future, the inner mind of people will begin to interact with Momentum. They see how others evolve and crave it for themselves. At the same time, they harbor dark desires. All this will trigger the eventual catastrophe … and this is why you, Yusei Fudo, must be resurrected."

"I do sense the similarity," stated Sherry.

_Similarity?_ thought Jack. _Yusei would never do such things!_

"But does this mean that Yusei wants to destroy Neo Domino City?" Rua said, dismayed.

"That's impossible!" said Yusei. "I know who I am."

"Nevertheless, it's true. No matter what you do, I can predict your moves," said Z-One.

The next exchange returned Z-One's points to 4000 while Yusei's were reduced to 1500.

"If I don't draw a Temporal God the next turn, you just might be able to launch an all-out attack and win," Z-One said. "But that won't change the future."

"You're not me."

"We are no different. I'll tell you how I know. I started out as a plain researcher, trying to discover a solution to the crisis, but the crisis wasn't in the world, it was in hearts of people. I couldn't change that. But there was someone, a legendary hero, who could. I determined to make myself over in the image of that hero—no. To become him completely, in every way. I copied everything, down to your very personality, Yusei. I _am_ you."

"What insanity!" said Jack, aghast.

Aki said, "He turned himself into Yusei!"

Crow marveled, "To go so far to change the future!"

Jack followed the motion of Yusei's D-wheel, trying to catch a glimpse of his face. _Surely he doesn't believe that shit!_ he thought. No matter how he looked at it, Jack couldn't believe that this person could be anything like Yusei. If anyone knew Yusei, he did. Yusei had honor and this man clearly had no honor at all. Someone with honor would never use such tools—betrayal and deception—as his means to an end. Whatever the situation, he would never willingly sacrifice millions without trying to save any of them somehow.

Z-One was going on. "Initially, it seemed to work. People's hearts responded. But eventually it became clear that it was too late. People were consumed by doubt, which triggered the network to self-destruct. In the end I couldn't save anyone. I resolved to destroy Momentum in the first place and that requires erasing Neo Domino City."

"So that's why he wants to destroy the city!" exclaimed Jack. _He wants to end this completely before the technology spreads._

"Tell me this," said Yusei. "How can you expect to save the world if you kill so many people? I'll find a way to save the people along with the future."

"I was there," said Z-One.

After the next exchange, Yusei found himself facing five Temporal Machine Gods.

"Impressive!" Jack uttered, gazing at the display. _Why is it that when this guy copied Yusei's personality, he got his dueling skill but not his honor?! _

Yusei looked worried.

Jack sent his will to Yusei, _Choose the right moment!_

It was critical that Yusei time his moves precisely. Yusei took the first hit, allowing his points to be cut in half, then avoided defeat on the second blow by playing Scrap Iron Scarecrow.

"Why didn't you play Scrap Iron Scarecrow in the first place?" asked Z-One.

"Because you said you were me."

"Do you think you can take three more attacks?"

"Bring it."

After two more attacks, all Yusei's cards had been sent to his hand, opening the field for the final attack by Sandaion, whose effect was to deal 4000 points damage.

All of 5D's called Yusei's name as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"As expected," Z-One said, "you were unable to save this world."

But Power Tool Dragon had appeared on the field, called from Yusei's hand.

"You're running out of time. The Arc Cradle is about to collide with Neo Domino City. To save anything, you have to make sacrifices. You are too ignorant to realize this, so you can't save anything."

Jack watched as the old, cracked buildings around him began to break and fall upwards, crashing into Neo Domino. It was everything he could do to keep his heart from cracking. He growled, deep inside his chest.

_That bastard. He doesn't know Yusei at all_, Jack thought. _What arrogance to say he's you and then call you ignorant and impotent!_ _Show him who you really are!_

Z-One set a card and ended his turn. Yusei drew, then Z-One activated Temporal Machine Ein Soph Aur, which prevents Temporal Machine Gods from returning to the deck.

The collision between the Arc Cradle and Neo Domino City began.

The shock from the collision tore the card from Yusei's hand and Jack watched him dive after it amid the chaos.

_Shit! I'm better at that sort of thing_ … Jack thought, wishing for the thousandth time that he had been allowed to help.

Jack saw Yusei grab it, then he was thrown from his D-wheel. "_Snap out of it!_" Jack shouted, hearing cries of dismay around him. _You've come so far, you can't quit now!_ Jack thought desperately. Yusei looked almost unconscious, falling like that. For the first time, he felt a twinge of worry. _Damn it, Yusei! We still need to duel! __We have plans! You can't just__—__!_

Then there was a flash of light, springing from Satellite across the bay to catch Yusei's limp form. "Do … do you think he'll be OK?" asked Crow.

Jack said nothing, waiting, then saw Yusei swoop up out of the light. He grasped Crow's shoulder tightly.

"Great!" Crow exclaimed.

Nearby, Aki sighed in relief, impressed with his recovery.

_He's _got_ to win, now_, Jack thought. Whatever that was wasn't ordinary.

"Will your new future be a brighter future?" asked Yusei. "Humanity will still be plagued by desire and temptation, whether Momentum exists or not. If you can't save the present, you can't save the future, isn't that right? Father, everyone, please lend me your power!"

Jack felt a shiver run up his spine as his arm began to burn and glow. Finally, the sign disappeared completely and he sent everything within him, down to the bottom of his heart, with it. All that seemed to be left in him was the sense that something amazing was about to happen.

_Over Top Clear Mind._

Yusei called all of their dragons, then tuned all of them to create Shooting Quasar Dragon—as he put it—the ultimate state of their bond and proof of their evolution. "Oh, and by the way," he added, "Shooting Quasar Dragon can negate the effect of 'can't be destroyed' and the number of times that it can attack equals the number of synchro monsters that make up its source material."

The blow brought Z-One down to 700 points and drove him into a building. Recovering, he said, "After all I've suffered to find a way to change history, I have the _right_ to do it."

"No one has that right."

"Are you denying my existence?"

"You might be right, that only despair awaits us, but the chance to change the future lies within the life of every one of us."

_Damn it, Yusei,_ Jack thought, _He says he's you._ I'm_ denying his existence. He is most definitely _not_ Yusei Fudo!_

"Then see my true power," said Z-One. "I can call the Tree of Life after all ten Temporal Machine Gods have been Summoned."

Yusei looked as horrified as Jack felt. The card could call as many Temporal Machine Gods as possible to the field. "Look how many insanely powerful gods are gathered!" he said softly.

But he felt resolute. Yusei would win. Somehow.

Yusei managed to survive the attack, then with little left, called Stardust Dragon to the field using Clustering Wishes. This tricky maneuver allowed him to pump up Stardust Dragon's points and attack multiple times, defeating Z-One at last.

"Yusei won!" Aki exulted.

"And we're here! Problem," Crow pointed out.

"_Run!_" Jack shouted. He was already several strides toward the Wheel of Fortune. He was inches away when he began falling.

He made a grab for Ruka, but couldn't make it when he heard the unearthly cry of the Crimson Dragon. Thank heaven!

Moments later they were standing on the docs of Satellite looking toward Neo Domino City.

* * *

Miraculously standing on earth again, Jack looked up into the heavens and shouted. "The Arc Cradle! When Yusei won! He promised it would disappear! That bastard!"

_Shit!_

Suddenly he saw a flash of pink light streaking up into the core of the Arc Cradle. Jack felt Akiza grab his arm, pointing. "Look! There!"

"He's going to fix the rotation of the Momentum generator!" said Crow.

Jack waited breathlessly with the others for what seemed forever, but must have only been a minute or so at most.

Finally, the Arc Cradle slowly lifted, flickered, and disappeared.

"Wait!" yelled Jack, clamping his eyes shut and clenching his fists. "Yusei's still in there!" He heard the twins bawling behind him and Aki repeating Yusei's name, but he couldn't control himself. "_Yusei can't be dead!_ I won't accept it!"

The sky began to clear, revealing daybreak. The sunshine glistened on the waters of the bay.

"I can't believe it," said Crow. "I can't believe he's really gone."

Jack looked out over the water uncomprehendingly, an undefinable but overwhelming emotion engulfing his entire body.

At last Aki pointed toward the location where the Arc Cradle had hovered and cried, "There he is! He's coming!"

As Jack watched him glide back toward him, he tried to regain his composure. What exactly _had_ he felt during those breathless moments when he thought that Yusei wasn't coming back after all?

The duel was over. Somehow, Jack was positive that he would win the duel and the very idea of his dying outside of the duel was somehow ridiculous and ridiculously wrong. It would have been so unfair.

So like Z-One, but so unfair.

At last Yusei arrived at their location. Team 5D's erupted in cheers and hugged him all around. Yusei stared at Jack, who had held back a little.

"The nerve of that guy, Z-One, saying he was you!" exclaimed Crow.

"He made himself over into my image, so in his mind, he was me, Crow. And, in the end, he did save my life. He stopped the Arc Cradle."

"He promised the duel would do that." Jack said almost absently, then started. "The Wheel of Fortune! It was—"

Crow looked dismayed. "And the Blackbird, and your D-wheel, too, Aki."

Yusei said, "Don't panic yet, let's see what we can find out."

Jack grimaced. _Like where my baby crashed_ …

"Let me contact Jaeger. We can't all get on my D-wheel."

Yusei climbed back onto his D-wheel and used the comm to contact the Public Maintenance Bureau. "Jaeger, it's Yusei. Have—"

"Yusei! On behalf of Neo Domino City, our thanks to you and Team 5D's! Oh, yes, I wanted to tell you that your D-wheels have somehow appeared in the stadium here. We'll of course be taking care of them for you until you arrive. Do you need transportation?"

"Yeah, thanks. I have my D-wheel, but the rest of us—six—could use a lift. Uh, could you tell Mizoguchi that we have Sherry? I'm sure he'd like to know."

Crow snorted. "I wonder how our D-wheels got there?"

"It must have been the Crimson Dragon!" said Rua happily. He looked out over the water toward the dawn.

Jack followed his gaze, thinking that the dawn was uncharacteristically cold. Yusei was back, he was alive … but why … why, then, did he seem farther away than ever?

* * *

**Author's notes:**

Well, the world didn't end yesterday, did it? I'm going to celebrate by posting a chapter (early!) in which Yusei saves the world. OK, he saves Neo Domino City, but he's on his way to saving the world. Anyway, this concludes the dueling marathon with Yliaster. I hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks to my faithful reviewers, KizunaTsudoishi and CrimsonShootingStar7 for your continuing support! Haha, so it's not just me that Jack didn't have enough to do in those last duels! Thought so. I agree, it would have been nice to be in on more of their thinking too—hope I could somehow fill the gap somehow, at least from Jack's perspective. I needed to choose a POV, and Yusei's mind would be on the duel. It was more fun to concentrate on Jack, whose mind would be on Yusei.

_I'm a signer now_: I don't think I mentioned it earlier, but I should say that I believe that Jack's failure to go easy on Rua contributed to his getting through the duel and becoming a Signer. Babying him and trying to make him feel better would not have helped him buck up and find the courage he needed to pull himself together. Jack's rough on kids, but when you need to grow up fast and _survive_, you need to face reality, not be protected from it. Those are the sad facts.

_I wonder how our D-wheels got there_: The anime doesn't explain how the D-wheels survived as far as I can tell.

Z-One: I don't think that it's pointed out in the anime, but it struck me that Z-One, who tried to turn himself into a duplicate of Yusei, insults and degrades him during the duel. Does this indicate self-loathing, or just what _is_ his problem, anyway?

_Lengthy anime notes_: OK, now I want to take a moment to comment at (boring) length about the anime and characters, so feel free to tune out and skip to the preview.

I find it very interesting to compare the primary themes of DM vs 5D's. If you whittle it down, DM is very much about uncovering the mystery of a tragic past, and rescuing a hero and finally defeating the sealed monster. 5D's is about untangling the mystery of a tragic future and the struggle to prevent that future from happening. (The interesting twist for 5D's is that Team 5D's is used to bring the very doom they're fighting upon themselves and that their weapon—the synchro summon—is considered to be the key to armageddon) You can pick out sub-themes that contrast interestingly:

DM: The hero is basically a ghost, obsessed by the need to reclaim memories of his lost past. 5D's: There is an amnesiac ghost, but he is the supporting character Bruno/Antimony, driven to reclaim memories of his lost future.

DM: There is a resurrected hero (Seto), a priest/pharaoh who has returned to assist his friend to enter the afterlife. He doesn't want to recognize his status, but nevertheless draws on the power of it (the sennen rod responds to him remotely, etc.). 5D's: The First Signer (Jack) is resurrected to battle Scar Red Nova and absorb his power. He isn't interested in supernatural subjects and Yusei doesn't discuss the legend with him.

DM: A major theme of the series is the friction between the outlooks of Atem and Kaiba. Atem, being a ghost, is concerned with his memories and the past, whereas Kaiba is obsessed with the future. Moreover, Kaiba, as a reincarnation who is forced to face aspects of his former life, is motivated to become even more future-fixated out of subconscious pressure from his previous personality. Just my theory! He denies destiny and insists that he determines his own fate. 5D's: Hello, Yusei! Witness his interchanges with destiny-driven Harald or Z-One, who thinks he's got destiny rigged. Yusei believes that the future is in our hands. Interestingly, he still gets along well with Jack, who seems to have a strong sense of personal destiny.

DM and 5D's both stress bonds as an important strength and duels are in the balance. They both say you can't survive without your bonds. This is why Yusei and Atem prevail over Jack and Kaiba.

Finally, a couple of character notes. I often see parallels drawn between Kaiba and Jack, but I don't see it as clear-cut (hell, see above). Sure, physically, Jack is quite similar to Kaiba and Yusei similar to Atem (anime eye color swapped), but let's look at other characteristics.

Yusei has the salient characteristics of valuing friendship (bonds) highly, being unbeatable (during the series), and going out of his way to help people (Atem characteristics), but also is a brilliant engineer, who works tirelessly, takes a logical approach to dueling, who doesn't believe in destiny and insists on seizing control of his own future (Kaiba). (Note: I don't think that Kaiba's actual approach to dueling is quite as logical as he likes to think it is.)

Jack has the traits of arrogance, loner-ism, connection to a previous incarnation (Kaiba), but he also seems to feel a sense of personal destiny, regards his cards as comrades, and is perhaps even more of a crusader, taking on the cause of duelists who've been wronged with whom he has little or no connection (Atem).

Yeah, well, anyway ... that's why I see them as mix/match of Atem/Kaiba traits.

Verbose much? Sigh.

And now, finally, a preview of our next chapter ...

_"Now, Jack—"_

_"You know that's true. It's like the whole world should wait for him to get over it." Jack took a long sip, looking out of the window at the sky. "I'm not waiting. I have things to do."_

At last a break from dueling! The tournament is over and all is rainbows and lollipops? Dream on ...


	12. Disconnection

warnings: references to plot points (that is, spoiler-ish)

**12. Disconnection**

It had been a few days since the WRGP ended. The sun filtered in through Jack's prismatic windows and the filmy curtains that covered them. The light fell across his bed, slowly waking him.

He stretched, running his hand over his nearly crisp sheets. He was fully awake now.

He sat in his bed, drawing his knees up. This hadn't been what he'd expected at all.

He hadn't exactly pictured anything definite for after the WRGP, but if he had, surely it wouldn't have been this. When Yusei had reappeared, he'd felt such relief, but at the same time, he'd felt such overwhelming emotion that he couldn't just fawn over Yusei. He needed to step back and process it all for a while. He'd never felt anything like it before. When the Arc Cradle disappeared with Yusei, he couldn't comprehend it. It was as though the laws of the universe had been unalterably broken. It wasn't supposed to turn out that way. Even when Yusei demonstrated that everything had turned out all right and the laws of the universe were in effect after all, he needed to recover from a blow so fundamental.

But, in addition to that, the realization that losing Yusei could affect him like that was a revelation that shook him to his core. Was he really so fragile? So dependent on others?

Did this bond pose a danger to his ability to function?

After all, Yusei had taken his card, his very soul, with him and he hadn't considered that at all.

And now … it was like the other end of that bond was unraveling before his eyes. Had he made a catastrophic error?

He'd fully expected Yusei to demand to speak with him by the next day at least, but now it had been days.

No use lying in bed depressed about it.

He got up, dressed and went downstairs. Yusei was ensconced behind his computer. "Yusei?"

"Morning, Jack." Yusei didn't even look up.

Well, there was his answer. Scanning the garage didn't make him any happier. The Wheel of Fortune, the Blackbird, and Yusei's D-wheel were all in various stages of disassembly. The last duels hadn't done any of them any favors.

"They'll be done soon, Jack. The damage is less than you'd think."

Yusei still hadn't looked up.

Jack suppressed a growl and strode outside. He walked along at a fast pace, thinking. If Yusei was going to be like that, what use was it even talking to him? He was just going to make Jack even more unhappy than he was already. It was better to just go out for a walk. Crow would just say it was all his fault and that he was brooding, but didn't Yusei have some responsibility in this too?

Very quickly, he found himself down on the river bridge, watching the water flow beneath his feet. Somehow, the movement of the water soothed his restless mind.

_I'm asking you to wait. For Crow._

What was Yusei waiting for now? Was he making excuses?

_I might have my own plans for after._

It's not like I didn't warn him. I've told him again and again.

_I can't wait forever._

He closed his eyes for a moment. His body almost thrummed with desire for Yusei, especially knowing how incredible he'd been during the duel and how close he'd come to losing him. He wanted to be with Yusei, but he refused to force the issue. He wanted—no, he _needed_—to know that Yusei wanted to be with him too.

* * *

A couple of days later, Jack walked into Poppo Time and looked around. Crow was sitting at the make-shift table sipping coffee.

"Where's Yusei?" he asked.

Crow waved a hand vaguely toward the center of Neo Domino without looking up from his copy of _Duel_. "Oh, he went out to meet with Jaeger and some science nerds out at the Momentum reactor."

"Got any more of that coffee?"

"Sure. Help yourself."

Jack sat across from Crow. "What's Yusei up to anyway? Is this about fixing things so—"

"Yeah, he wants to make sure the bad future doesn't happen."

"I see." Jack frowned. "How do you figure out how people's emotions react with Momentum, anyway?"

"I don't know, but if anyone can do it, Yusei can."

"Have you noticed that Yusei hasn't said a lot since the WRGP? He hasn't even mentioned—"

"Bruno?" Crow finished. "Yeah."

"I don't like it."

"So? Why don't you say something?"

"Me? I can't say anything. From me, it'll sound like an 'I told you so,' and I don't mean it that way. At all. I liked Bruno. Sort of. In my own way. … He sure did a lot for the Wheel of Fortune."

"Jack, you don't have to say anything to me about it. I get it. I know how it was." Crow thoughtfully took a sip. "And I know how he is."

"Yeah. Remember how he broke the news? 'Oh, by the way'? 'He died for us'? _By the way?!_"

"Yusei's always like that. When he doesn't want to talk about it—"

"He was exactly the same with Kiryu! Remember? Buried in his work, avoiding everybody. He acted like he was the _only_ one who gave a damn! Like it shouldn't matter at all to either one of us. Just because we couldn't hang in there when he was—" Jack halted suddenly, unable to talk about the things Kiryu had been up to.

"Now, Jack—"

"You know that's true. It's like the whole world should wait for him to get over it." Jack took a long sip, looking out of the window at the sky. "I'm not waiting. I have things to do."

Crow looked at him, trying to catch those elusive violet eyes with his own gray ones, but they were trained on whatever distant goal Jack was set on.

* * *

The next day, Yusei sat before his computer, poring over the calculations. He would not be satisfied until it was right.

It had to be correct. Completely correct. It had to be perfect.

He owed it to Bruno. He owed it to Aporia … and Paradox. Hell, he even owed it to Z-One.

"Yusei …" Jack had somehow appeared next to him, leaning against the wall, arms folded and one ankle crossed over the other. His pose was relaxed, but his voice was not.

"Jack," Yusei said without looking up, "I've finished checking out the wheel of Fortune. I just finished detailing it, so it's just outside. It's in perfect shape—good to go."

"Thanks, but that's not what I wanted to talk about."

"Jack, I'm sorry, but I really don't have time. I have to—"

"Yusei, the synchro apocalypse isn't going to happen tomorrow. You have time. You're going to fix this."

"I need to be sure. Just give me time."

"One thing. You said something about needing to open up? Share the load? It's—"

"I know what it's about." Yusei closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. Then he looked up. Jack's violet eyes were filled with concern and something he couldn't quite identify. "I'm not trying to shut you out, honest, Jack. It's just … this is just as important as fighting Yliaster. If I don't get it done, that future could happen. Everyone could die, and I can stop it. I can't rest until I make sure it never happens. Please … I'm so close. I know it's hard for you to be patient but just give me a little more time."

"Sure, Yusei," Jack said quietly. "You can have all the time you need."

Jack moved off and Yusei turned his attention back to his equations fully again. He was vaguely aware of footsteps moving off up the ramp. Quietly, the door clicked open and softly closed. There was something … different about it.

Yusei's head snapped up.

Suddenly, without having realized he'd gotten up, he was out the door and looking around. Jack wasn't sitting at the cafe. He wasn't driving down the street on his D-wheel.

He was already gone.

* * *

**Author's notes ...**

12/29/2012: Reposted, couple of minor re-wordings.

This is short-ish, but it started out under 1000 words, so I'm actually doing pretty good!

Well, merry Christmas guys, I hope that posting this chapter (angsty as it is) helps brighten the holiday for a couple of people. And if you don't celebrate Christmas, have a great day and here's another chapter. I hope you like it!

Thanks again to everyone who was kind enough to review (specifically CrimsonShootingStar7, KizunaTsudoishi, and 4810), and to everyone who added a favorite or follow. Only one more duel to go, but that means we're in the home stretch for this story. I'm still debating whether to start posting my little farce/fluff story today. If you want to see it, say something (hint ;) ).

A couple of notes:

_I'm asking you to wait; I might have my own plans_: see Chapter 1.

_Oh, by the way_: The translation I saw had Yusei say something like "I forgot to mention" (when he rejoins 5D's after his duel with Antimony/Bruno), which I'm having Jack recall as "oh, by the way." In any case, Yusei is brushing off something that means a lot to him because he doesn't want to deal with it at the moment. (And, hell, he shouldn't at that time, he has to duel.)

And next time ...

_His heart hurt. _

_That bond … _

_It was as though he could feel it, tugging him, over all these miles, all the way to Neo Domino City. Would it always be so? Distracting him, dragging him back?_

Yusei without Jack, Jack without Yusei ... what will they do?


	13. Negative Space

warnings: profanity, very minor spoilers

**13. Negative Space**

Crow drove into Poppo Time and parked the Blackbird. Things were getting complicated for him because he was already entering the academy to become a highway patrolman. A thousand things whirled through his mind as he considered his plans.

There seemed to be a big gap in the garage. Of course, ever since the end of the WRGP, they'd felt it, the missing piece. The lack of Bruno. Yusei had told them everything that had happened, of course, but … he still couldn't believe it.

He walked over to the kitchenette and started some coffee. It wasn't until then that it hit him.

The Wheel of Fortune was missing. That was why there was so much room in the garage.

Of course, there was nothing unusual about that. Still, there was something in the air.

He ran over to the big, open garage doors and looked across to the cafe. He wasn't there either.

Of course, that was just as inconclusive.

"He's not here, Crow."

Crow's head swiveled to look behind him where Yusei stood. "Jack's gone," he reaffirmed.

Sighing, Yusei walked over to the makeshift table that Jack had initially attempted to assemble and that Yusei had fixed for him and sat down. He ran his hand over it as though it somehow connected him to his friend, then propped his head on his hands.

"Let me get you some coffee," said Crow. Thank goodness the brewing was almost done. Yusei looked so damn depressed about this. He couldn't quite understand it. Yeah, they were best friends and all, but it wasn't as though Jack wasn't a loner type. He'd always spent an awful lot of time going his own way, even when as kids Crow had considered their little group pretty much inseparable.

They sat for a minute, just sipping their coffee. "He'll be back, you know," said Crow.

"I'm not so sure about that. The way he left … it just felt … wrong. Like our bond was breaking or something."

"Why would you say that?"

"It was just the feeling. After he walked out."

Crow sat looking at him, not knowing what to say. Yusei wasn't looking at him. He sat holding his coffee cup and looking toward the door wistfully.

Crow thought it over.

"If what you're saying is true, the way I see it," he said slowly, "with Jack, it's one of three things. He thinks that our bond is too bothersome, or it gets in his way, or it's too painful."

_Too painful …?_

Yusei looked into Crow's serious gray eyes. "This is my fault."

"I wasn't going to say 'your fault,' exactly, Yusei, only … You're really good at listening to people's problems, but you're not really good at opening up about your own, you know?"

"Crow …"

"Well?"

"Why would I lean on everyone about my problems?"

"I think you should ask Jack that question."

"Jack's the last person I should lean on about this."

"Oh, really? And why is that? I thought he was your friend."

_My friend …_

"Speaking of, do you want to talk about what's bothering you? Or do you want me to fight you instead?" asked Crow. "I know I'm not as violent about it as Jack is, but—"

"Fight you? What are you talking about?"

"Give me a break, Yusei. It's obvious there's something bothering you, and it's pretty obvious what it is, too. So, are you going to talk about it or are we going to have it out?"

"No, I don't need to fight you. I just need time."

"Time? Isn't that what you told Jack?" Crow started to get angry. "Jack was right. This is just like you. You lose a friend and you shut right down and shut everyone out. Isn't that what happened? You buried yourself in work and he walked out? It's Kiryu all over again. I never really made the connection before, but … there's some sort of connect between you losing someone and shutting down and him disappearing and wanting to cut himself off completely. Don't you remember what Jack's like?!"

Yusei put his cup down, eyes wide, and stared at Crow. "I … I never—"

"You're the only friend that really means much to him. I wish I could say as much for myself, but—"

"Don't sell yourself short, Crow!"

"No, it's true. You're the one he respects. And now, ever since you beat him, even more so. When you shut everyone out like you have been, it's hard on us, but we're OK. For him … You know how he is. He can't stand to be ignored."

Yusei stared at him as it sunk in. Jack, his ego, Yusei's inattention … It was one thing when the WRGP was on and Jack had a goal to focus on that kept him in Neo Domino City, but now, with nothing to hold him here, nothing except a bond that … Shit. "Crow, you're right. I guess I've been kind of selfish the last several days—"

"I wouldn't say that—"

"No, you're right. I've only thought of myself ever since the end of the WRGP anyway, and—"

"No, wait!" said Crow. "That's going too far! You saved the city!"

He waved that off and sighed again. He frowned at his cup. "I've been so distressed about Bruno's death, I just sort of forgot some of the things that matter the most to me. The friends that I still have—"

Crow realized that he was now softening, but he couldn't help himself. "No, Yusei, it's really understandable after all we've been through. You shouldn't—"

"Stop, Crow. You don't understand. It's bad. There are still people who need me. I'm forgetting the people—the person—who loves me …"

"The—wait! You …" Crow just about dropped his cup, then clutched it. "_Ow!_" he said, putting it down quickly. "You're not … You're not talking about—"

_Jack was gone … Yusei was depressed … Two plus two …_

"I'm sorry, Crow. This is all my fault."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Crow put his head in his hands. He felt a major headache coming on. "You're seriously telling me that you … and he … Jack … and you …?"

"Yeah. We kind of … got together."

"Shit."

Yusei finally lifted his eyes from his coffee cup and stared at Crow, examining his face for his reaction.

Looking thoroughly flustered, Crow said, "Do you know that I was seriously considering confessing to that idiot? Do you realize what he would have put me through if I had?!" Suddenly Crow realized what he'd said. "Oh, god, Yusei! Shit, don't tell him what I said, or—"

Yusei smiled wanly. "You know I won't." He took a breath. "So I was right. I mean, about you having feelings for him. That's why I wanted to wait until the WRGP was over. He wanted to say something right away, but I wanted to wait. We had enough on our minds without adding to everything."

"I guess …"

"You were going to say something? Why? I mean, why now? After all this time? How long have you felt this way about him, anyway?"

"Since I can remember, practically, I think. You remember how he was when we were growing up."

"Yeah … But you've been so—"

Crow smiled ruefully. "Angry with him lately? It's because I remember how he was. Then, in Team Satisfaction … he's letting too much drag him down."

"What, you mean like your criticisms?"

"Even that. I'll admit it." Crow stared at his cup for a minute, then stood and walked over to the pot for a refill. Without turning around, he said, "You know why I goad him? I _want_ him to fight back. He needs to remember who he _is_, dammit." Crow turned toward the table, his fist tightening around the handle of his cup. "He keeps repeating his name like a goddam mantra, but he hasn't gotten it through his head yet that he's a damn sight better than Godwin ever was! We got through the entire WRGP and I don't think we ever saw Jack at his best and—"

"Crow," Yusei said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Funny. That's exactly how I feel." _After Nazca …_

Crow finally relaxed a little and sat down.

"Hey," Crow frowned. "I never knew you were gay, let alone interested in Jack. I mean, you had a couple of girlfriends, didn't you? And Jack—! He always showed interest in girls, not that he was ever serious about any of his girlfriends. And what about Aki?"

"Uh, yeah, well, I guess I'm bi, and Jack …" Yusei blushed. "I guess he just sort of made an exception for me."

"An _exception!_"

"Well, he has trouble finding girls he really likes …"

Crow rolled his eyes. "Jack _would_ be aggravating like that. And Aki?"

"I still need to tell her."

"Well, don't leave her hanging. It would be bad for her to have to find out for herself. Don't you think?"

"She's not like she used to be, but you're right. Crow, are you all right with this?"

"Well, it's not like I realistically believed that Jack and I would be skipping off into the sunset together." He sighed and sipped his coffee. "But this confession time doesn't explain where Jack would go. If anything, he has all the more reason to stay."

Yusei sighed heavily. "Or even more reason to cut us off completely," he said. "I mean, if he's really serious about concentrating exclusively on his goals. He did mention something about his work beginning in earnest after the WRGP."

"He told you that?"

"Yes."

"What exactly did he say?"

Yusei frowned, trying to remember. "I wish I had been paying more attention. I was so wrapped up in the WRGP at the time, in my own petty worries—"

"What, you mean like the end of the world? Yusei—"

"I need to listen to him, Crow! He's the person who's most important to me and I … I asked him to wait until after."

"That wasn't unreasonable, Yusei."

"And even then, I asked him to give me time! He's everything to me, Crow! I shouldn't be selfish like that."

"Damn it Yusei! Maybe you should have given him a chance to talk to you, but give yourself a break! You really are working on something majorly important. If there's no world, it's a little hard to feather a little love nest somewhere, don't you think? Jack needs to learn to give a little too. Love isn't a one-way street."

* * *

"To think your dueling has improved this much!" exclaimed Bommer.

"It's only to be expected," replied Jack.

"At least stay the night."

"I need to move on."

"You can't make the next town tonight, anyway."

"Very well."

"So you're dueling everyone?"

"Not 'everyone.' Anyone I can think of who can help make me stronger. I need to be as strong as I can possibly be."

"So you haven't—"

"My goal is the same."

Bommer smiled and shook his head. "You never change, Jack. That's all right. Max will be proud. … You know, I'm glad he looks up to you. Even if you are an arrogant prick."

"Thanks, I think."

They drove slowly back to Bommer's house, where Max and Annie ran out to greet them.

"You were great!" shouted Max. "You're not mad, are you, big brother?"

"No, no, this is what I expected, to be honest." Bommer smiled. "But I promise to beat you next time."

"Good luck with that!" Jack said. "I'll duel you any time."

After they ate and Bommer put the kids to bed, the two stood looking at the stars.

"I never get tired of this view," said Bommer.

"I can see why. I remember looking at the stars with Yusei after I earned Scar Red Nova Dragon."

"That was really something. Jack … did Yusei ever tell you about the legendary first Signer?"

"I don't want to hear about anything like that."

"But, Jack, it has—"

"I don't care. Whatever you want to say could only distract me from what I want to accomplish. Could you do me a favor and save whatever it is for later?"

"I guess. Or … you could ask Yusei. I told him the story."

"Hnh. Interesting. Usually he'd try to tell me all about this sort of thing. He didn't say anything about it."

"That's funny."

"I guess he figured I had enough to think about with the WRGP and all."

"Sure you don't want me to tell you?"

"Positive," Jack said. "I have a lot on my mind."

"No you don't. You're paring it down to the bare essentials. I know you."

"Hmph. Maybe, but that's what I want to concentrate on."

"What about Yusei, anyway?"

"He's busy with the Fortune Project. Averting global disaster. Saving the world. That's all."

Bommer chuckled. "He's taking a break, I see."

"I'm not sure Yusei knows what a break is. Anyway," Jack shrugged, "I think he's all broken up about Bruno. But, honestly, you've got to consider that he didn't really die after all because he wasn't—er, hasn't been born yet. What Yusei's doing not only ensures that his and the others' efforts weren't in vain, but that they all—and the world for that matter—don't have to suffer in the first place. It's all very important."

"But?"

"What do you mean, 'but'?"

"I heard something in your voice."

Jack sighed. "It's nothing. I just … I wanted to talk with him before I left and he …"

"Don't tell me he was too wrapped up in this—what was it you called it? The Fortune Project?—to even say goodbye properly."

Jack shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, does it?"

"Of course it does. You're best friends."

Jack didn't say anything, but simply looked up into the heavens as though the stars held the answers.

"Jack, of course you're best friends. If he didn't care about you in some profound way, he never would have come all the way out here with you when you came here to face Scar Red Nova. As much as he believed and trusted in you, he knew you were facing mortal danger and he needed to be here to see if he could help."

Jack stood thinking.

_Yusei couldn't do anything, but if he hadn't been there I couldn't have won. I needed to save him, no matter what._

His heart hurt.

_That bond …_

It was as though he could feel it, tugging him, over all these miles, all the way to Neo Domino City. Would it always be so? Distracting him, dragging him back?

"I need …"

"Jack?"

What _did_ he need? Yusei? To be free?

Over and over again, he had reinforced it. That bond. The bond he'd tried to sever when he left Satellite. The bond that he'd re-formed only through such pain and difficulty.

That bond had sustained him, it had helped him survive Scar Red Nova, Aporia … so many other threats, and yet … _Now_ … wasn't it pulling him back, _holding_ him back?

"I need to focus all my energy on my goal."

"Are you all right?"

"I … I don't know," he admitted. "I know one thing. Who I am and what I want. I _will_ achieve what I want, my destiny, no matter what it takes."

_Even if I have to cut that bond … irrevocably._

* * *

Yusei walked into Poppo Time after a long day at the research center.

Damn, but the place looked empty now.

With Bruno gone and Jack wherever he was and Crow moved out and with the Highway Patrol, the place just wasn't the same. Certainly not as lively, anyway.

He even missed Jack and Crow's quarrels.

Tired as he was, he missed Jack. He was putting in the long days to finish the Fortune Project as quickly as possible, of course, but also … yes, also to keep his mind off of Jack. Even so, there were times that, no matter how tired he was, he just needed him.

He wanted Jack near him. His presence. His inspiration. Just the comfort of his presence in the room with him.

Yusei could feel it. He could _see_ it. He closed his eyes in the darkened garage and he could see Jack, his hand gripping his chest over his heart, violet eyes blazing, his entire body burning with an intense aura as a result of his conviction.

However Yusei might embody the head of the Crimson Dragon, lead it and accept responsibility for it, he had to admit deep down inside that Jack, its wings, was its heart, its center. He had more than enough courage and conviction to spare. His inability to give up had buoyed all of them.

If it had been left up to him alone, he would have failed in the fight against Z-One. He would have given up. If it weren't for Jack's belief, his power—hell, his exhortations to snap the fuck out of it—he wouldn't have made it through … well, without him and the spirit of his father.

He never knew a time when Jack gave up, and he knew that Jack never gave up on him.

That's why he needed Jack.

He sighed. He walked upstairs, took a thorough but quick shower, grabbed an extra towel, then moved softly over to Jack's door. "I'm sorry, Jack," he whispered.

He pulled a small set of tools from the pocket of his robe, he expertly picked the lock. He didn't even have to turn on the light to do it anymore. He slipped inside like a thief.

Quashing feelings of guilt, he slipped into Jack's bed, inhaling the scent of the room. He reflected that it wouldn't last much longer because, despite his precautions, Jack's scent had become a mixture of both their scents and eventually it would be overcome by Yusei's.

Still, he could smell Jack's presence in the room now and it comforted him.

Sometimes he just slept. Sometimes the recollection of Jack and his need for him was far too great and having Jack's scent surround him drove home his intense physical desire for him. No matter how hard Yusei worked, he couldn't seem to completely overcome it.

"I want you," he whispered to the room.

There was no answer.

Still, his body craved relief, and he did what he could for it.

The next morning as he changed the sheets, he wondered with chagrin how many times he'd done that already.

Then he opened one of Jack's bureau drawers and pulled out a black, tank-top T-shirt and sniffed it experimentally.

_I don't suppose he'd mind if I borrowed this while he's away …_

* * *

**Author's notes ...**

Here you go, another chapter! I hope you like it! I think I need to make some changes to the next one. Can I make them in a week? Hopefully!

Meanwhile, thanks for the reviews and all the support, everyone as always! You don't know how motivating it is. The angst is up, but if you watched the series, you knew that it was coming!

Jack's duel with Bommer is shown as part of the montage of his training duels. This is really the only "spoiler." Everything else was drawn from my fevered imagination.

Preview of chapter 14 ...

_"Jack, duel me," said Yusei "Help me decide."_

_"Good," said Jack. "This is exactly what I hoped for. I want to conquer you before I take on the world. I want to put all this—put you**—**behind me. Then I can move on."_

_Jack … Yusei thought, how can you move on before we've even really had a chance to be together?_

Yusei duels for their love ... canon with a twist!


	14. Decision

warnings: spoilers ... dueling ...

**14. Decision**

Yusei stood in the Momentum reactor room, observing the final tests of the Fortune project. _Today's the day_, he thought. Everything had been fully prepared. All the subcomponents had been tested. This would be the critical step: integrating the program into the actual Momentum generator. The team nervously monitored operations for any adverse behavior under the new operation protocol.

Soon they were able to breathe easily. The Fortune Project was a success.

The newly-elected Mayor Jaeger entered to congratulate Yusei. "Neo Domino City thanks you, Yusei," he said. "I will no longer ask the impossible of you, Yusei, I promise! Please, take a break now. A vacation!"

"I'll think about it."

"Yusei, you've got a call." Yusei looked over to see a team member beckoning.

_Jack? No. It couldn't be._

"Thanks." He nodded toward a small conference room. There he turned on the viewer to see Crow. He was a little surprised. It looked like Crow was on duty at his job as a highway patrolman right now. He didn't often call on his breaks.

"What's up?"

Crow wanted to discuss the past year and the changes to the city since the WRGP.

"Come on, Crow," Yusei said, finally. "Tell me what's on your mind. You didn't call on your break to pass the time of day. What's wrong?"

"Well, now that you mention it, there is something that I want to talk over, but I'd rather do it face to face."

"Why don't we talk over dinner then? This weekend? We could get 5D's together …"

"Everyone? There's still a problem with—"

"You still haven't heard from Jack?"

"Me? If he'd contact anyone, I'd think it would be you, Yusei. Still, I sent him an email the other week and _pft!_ Nothing. You don't think he forgot all about our bond, do you?!"

"Nah, he'll be back. Sooner or later. … He'll be back." Yusei said that, but he felt it was more to convince himself than Crow.

* * *

Before starting the dinner, Yusei stood on the landing and looked around Poppo Time. Only one D-wheel—his—now stood on the garage floor instead of the four that he remembered. And now, the garage was shadowed and empty instead of filled with light and his friends.

And Jack …

Jack was who knows where.

He wondered whether Jack ever thought about him wherever he was.

_One day, I'm going to leave. You know that. _

Jack had wanted to talk to him, but he'd put him off. Maybe it wouldn't have changed a thing, but if he'd spoken with Jack, he wouldn't have this nagging feeling that he'd let his last chance slip past. He picked up a picture of 5D's celebrating the WRGP win, thinking, That was the last time we were all together, Bruno included. And now everyone will be going on with their own lives.

He sighed.

_I wonder what I'm going to do._

_I wonder what I'm going to do without Jack in my life._

In that wistful mood, he began to prepare the shishkebabs.

Very soon, Aki arrived with the twins and Crow arrived soon after.

"Hey, Aki, congrats on your graduation!" said Crow, smiling. "Any duel league would be happy to have you."

"Why does everyone have to talk about that?"

"What are you talking about? Isn't that a compliment?"

As the two continued to bicker, a beeping was heard and Ruka checked her phone. "Well, that confirms it," she said. "Guys, our parents want us to live with them now."

"Isn't that a good thing?" asked Crow.

"Well, yeah," said Rua, "but it would mean leaving Neo Domino City."

"Don't worry, guys, you're not the only ones wondering what to do. Aren't you thinking it over too, Crow? Aki?"

"Well, OK, now that you mention it, I did get an invitation from a pro duel league," said Crow.

"And I'm thinking about going to medical school," said Aki. "How did you know?"

"It's hard not to when your parents ask me for my recommendation."

"You." The familiar voice made Yusei's heart lurch hard within his chest. He jerked his head up to look toward the door, now open. "Why is it so difficult for all of you to make a simple decision?" Jack walked in and down the ramp into the garage.

The air surrounding him was potent with confidence. Yusei felt the attention of the entire group drawn to him irresistibly. _Do they all feel what I've always felt?_ he wondered.

"Where the hell have you been so long?!" Crow demanded.

"Training." He tossed a card, which cut into the floor before them. "I'm leaving Neo Domino City to join the top duel league, Duel Ace, to earn my rightful place as King of the world."

"Are you kidding?" asked Crow. "What about our bond?!"

"So you're fine with letting your bond hold you back?! Haven't you considered showing your power to the world? Crow, if you and I have received invitations from dueling leagues," he turned to Yusei, "Yusei, you must have as well."

"Yes, I guess I have."

"Well, I've made up my mind. We've proven that we're the strongest team. Now I want to test my own skill and prove myself to the world. I'll erase anything that stands in my way, and that includes my bonds with Team 5D's if need be."

_Including me, Jack? _thought Yusei. The distance between them was now so little, but the gap seemed wider than ever.

"Jack, we're just confused about what we want to do because we can't just let go of our bonds so easily as that," said Crow.

A thousand things flooded through Yusei's mind at once. It didn't matter that he didn't want his bonds broken; if the others insisted on walking out, it didn't matter what he did. What then? Did he have to chase Jack wherever he went? He couldn't just spend the rest of his life chasing everyone down. "Jack, duel me," said Yusei. "Help me decide."

"Good," said Jack. "This is exactly what I hoped for. I want to conquer you before I take on the world. I want to put all this—put you**—**behind me. Then I can move on."

_Jack …_ Yusei thought, _How can you move on before we've even really had a chance to be together? Why do you have to go so far?_

The group moved outside to the docks to begin the duel. Aki and the twins gathered around the Blackbird with Crow to watch the action as Jack and Yusei prepared.

"I've watched these two duel more times than I can count since we were kids," said Crow. "So why am I trembling?"

Yusei put on his helmet, thinking how long it had been since he'd seen Jack and how much was depending on what was about to transpire. "Do you realize that this is the first real duel that we've had since the Fortune Cup?"

"You don't know how I've longed for this," said Jack.

Yusei glanced at Jack. _Longed for … _

He turned his attention to the game at hand and started his D-wheel.

The duel began, Yusei taking the first turn. Stardust Dragon and Red Demon's Dragon came out on the field immediately, but just as Jack was attacking, Yusei played Star Excursion, which excluded both from play until the opponent's third battle phase.

"This represents our destroyed future, Jack," he said. "In this duel, I plan to find my future with my own hands."

* * *

Yusei considered his situation. Red Demon's Dragon was off the field for three turns, but so was Stardust Dragon. This was still Yusei's best chance to win and he was going to take full advantage of it.

He wanted to find his future, yes, and he wanted to help the others find theirs, but there was something that seemed even more important right now. Jack had to be part of all their futures. Even if they could never be together again, he still had that sign on his arm and Yusei couldn't believe that he wanted to erase it and everything that it represented.

_I'll take care of this right now!_

He placed two Triangle Tokens on Jack's field, then used the speed spell Defense Buster to change one of them to attack position and boost Nitro Warrior's attack by 1000 points to 3800. With Nitro Warrior's effect, a successful attack would shift the other Triangle Token into attack position and allow him another attack.

They paralleled the waterfront as he called his attack and rain began to fall.

Jack flipped his cover card, Break Tune, negating the attack and calling the tuner Influence Dragon from his hand. "What's the matter with you, Yusei?" asked Jack. "You're not usually so hasty. If you think you can settle things between us with a one-turn kill, you're sadly mistaken. If you underestimate me like that, you're in big trouble!" Their D-wheels were close now, and Yusei could see Jack's face clearly. "Never mind," he said with a smirk. "I'll win this duel."

Yusei couldn't help but smile. This was what he had been waiting to see. It wasn't just arrogance; it was supreme confidence. He wasn't putting on a show reminding himself of his abilities anymore. He was simply stating his belief in himself.

_Jack Atlas was back at last. All the way back._

Yusei was more resolved than ever. This was not the time that he wanted to say goodbye!

Still, Jack wasn't going to make it easy for him. He turned the situation around, calling Explode Wing Dragon and taking Yusei down to 1200 points as they headed across the bridge.

It was crushing, but exciting. He'd pushed Jack into a corner and he exploded out of it. Yusei felt the rush of adrenalin through his veins and a desire to pin Jack down. In every way.

"Feel my power, Yusei!" Jack exclaimed. "You, who challenge my very soul—I'll crush you like a bug!"

_Feel it yourself, Jack!_ Yusei thought. _I want you to chase me down! But you'll not beat me, not this time. Sorry, Jack, no matter what you do, I can't let that happen._

And the more he saw Jack at his best, the more Jack fought him off, the more he wanted to make sure it didn't happen. If Jack won, he'd follow through on his promise. He would cut them off, and Yusei couldn't let that happen.

"Not bad, Jack," Yusei responded, "but I take a different path, one more like the wind. You can't defeat me so easily!" And with that, he branched off onto a different route.

"Bragging?" Jack asked.

"You aren't the only one with that privilege."

Yusei couldn't help taunting Jack just a little. Driving Jack to use everything he had to beat him turned him on more than just about anything else he could think of.

Yusei called out Turbo Warrior and took Jack's points down to 2900.

"Not bad at all," said Jack. "Try this."

Jack summoned Crimson Blader and took Yusei down to 900 points. "Due to Crimson Blader's effect, you can't summon a monster this turn."

The two were now on the same wide bridge entering the city.

"Is this the result of your training?"

"Because I'm a power duelist, I need a little something extra. You know that. I'm trying to reach perfection."

_Then let me give you a push, Jack … _

Yusei played Angel's Baton.

"Aren't you lucky, drawing Angel's Baton when you have no cards in your hand?" Jack observed. "No matter, it won't change the outcome."

Yusei looked at his cards. … And Jack had said drawing Angel's Baton was lucky! He slipped a card into the graveyard and set another.

"So what did you discard?" asked Jack.

"Why don't you read my mind and tell me?"

"Too obvious. You just discarded Fake Gardna as a shield for a direct attack, didn't you?"

Yusei said, "I guess we haven't changed at all, have we? Dueling like this with our cards and our feelings at stake?"

Jack grinned. "Yeah! That won't change in the past, present, or future! Next turn Stardust and Red Demon's will return, but that doesn't matter because I'm ending the duel right now!"

They entered a tunnel as the battle ensued. Jack destroyed Fake Gardna, but Yusei played Scram Break to call Road Runner in defense. "Road Runner can't be destroyed by a monster with more than 1900 points," Yusei reminded Jack. "And now, Star Excursion's effect returns our dragons to the field!"

They flew through fan blades near the end of the tunnel and found themselves on a bridge opening into the city, the dragons reviving against the clearing sky.

Yusei felt it. _I can win this._

"You know, Jack," Yusei said, "during my duel with Z-One, I saw my father. Did I tell you that? He left something in my heart then, something for me to do. It's sort of like Momentum's planetary particles … you know how they react to what's inside the hearts of people? Well, then, there must be something, then, that connects and leads people's hearts. Protecting the existence of people is the very essence of bonds. You, of all people, should understand that. But if everyone separates … Jack, I want to be the one who connects the hearts of people, even if it's just ours. That's why I won't hesitate! As long as I can keep all of us connected, we can stand and walk toward the future on our own."

"Then I shall stand as the future King, Yusei!" Jack proclaimed. "I will fight to the end with my undying spirit!" He put together a stunning combo. And with Red Demon's Dragon and two tuners on his field, his body took on an unearthly glow while his eyes darkened strangely. "It's burning! It's burning!" he cried. "My soul!"

Scar Red Nova Dragon appeared with 6000 points.

In response, Yusei performed an Accel Synchro, calling Shooting Star Dragon. Drawing five cards, he counted three tuners, allowing him to attack three times. However, he could not best Scar Red Nova Dragon and so could only use one attack.

Frustrated, he ended his turn.

Jack equipped Scar Red Nova Dragon with Scar-Red Cocoon to negate Shooting Star Dragon's effect, then attacked.

The two drive into a dangerous industrial area as they fight on. Yusei played High and Low. He could draw three cards to increase Shooting Star Dragon's attack, but if he went over 6000 points, Shooting Star Dragon would self destruct.

As he drew, they completely left the streets and separated, each taking a catwalk over a steel refining processes.

After drawing two cards, he was still 800 points under the limit.

_I'm still 200 points in negative territory! I have no choice! To save our friendship I have to draw another card!_

As he closed his eyes in preparation to draw, he could hear Jack shouting. "Yusei! It's too dangerous! Surrender!" It sounded like a plea.

_Was it … ?_

He realized the catwalk had ended and he'd flown over a vat of molten steel as he'd drawn. Bolt Hedgehog! Exactly 800 points!

The two monsters fought, each destroying the other, but because of Scar-Red Cocoon's effect, Red Demon's Dragon revived in the end phase, rising out of the glowing magma.

It was a spectacular sight that left Yusei inspired.

Yusei called two of his reliable Junk monsters as they burst out into the sunlight. All signs of rain had disappeared. The future seemed clear at last. This was his home, and Jack was his best friend whether he was there or not.

Anything more … well, they'd just have to figure that part out.

All he could know for sure was what he wanted and what he could do for himself. He almost laughed. Jack had always seemed so clear on that. Just when he thought he had Jack chasing him, he found himself catching up again.

_I know how to win this!_ He smiled. Jack should appreciate this. _I'm going to power up my monster the way he likes to power up his._

"Do you think those will be enough to stand against my soul?" Jack asked.

"Let's see about it. I've found my future. I've learned something from this duel myself, that I can fire up my soul too."

"So you've finally figured out your own path, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm staying here."

Jack looked at him, stunned.

Yusei called Junk Warrior and pumped it to a full 5500 points. He drove up a sloping girder like a ramp, and, flying through the air, attacked.

That was it. Game over.

Beyond, a white figure, now still. What next?

* * *

**Author's notes ...**

Ah, guys, first an apology for making you wait so long! I'm not sure the results are worth the wait, but they're certainly an improvement on the original chapter I wrote (I promise!). Sadly, I had to re-watch the anime to finish it up and it took me a bit to pull myself together to do that - plus I've been distracted by my adventure story, which has been absorbing much of my inspiration lately. (Not to mention that I've been re-organizing my life a bit lately ... always a challenge ...) I hope you all had a good holiday. Superbowl notes: Congrats to the Ravens & their fans, and condolences to the 49ers and their fans. Thanks to both teams for a good and memorable game.

KizunaTsudoishi, KaiFudo16, and 4810, thanks as always for your continued support via reviews! As always it is a huge boost. :) (You'd think it would get this duel written faster ...) Now, to the notes:

This should follow the original, even the dialog, pretty closely. I've done a little paraphrasing from the translation that I worked from and there are a few liberties taken, but if (for some odd reason) you're following along, you should find it to be fairly faithful ... I hope! ;) Most of what I added for the duel is the internal stuff.

_Driving Jack ... turned him on_: In the original at this spot, after Aki comments that Yusei is enjoying the duel, Crow says something like "Yusei receives pleasure out of forcing Jack to release his full power." In response, Aki looks a little worried and the twins look surprised. (Which makes me kind of wish I understood Japanese - and well enough to catch the nuances, too.) I wonder, is this a "yaoi moment"? Anyway, this is how I've chosen to interpret the moment. ;)

How about a sneak preview?

_"But Jack, most people can change jobs and move to another town without discarding all their friends. You're avoiding talking about your bonds. It's like Crow said."_

_"Crow?"_

_"He said it's like you find bonds are too troublesome, or obstructive, or painful." Yusei pulled the beer out of Jack's hand and put it on the coffee table. Then, taking Jack's hands in his, he looked him in the eyes. "Jack, is what we have … painful?"_

Hellos, goodbyes, heartfelt chats, and ... ? Yeah, we're in the home stretch.


	15. Worth It

warnings: profanity, minor spoilers, endless chit-chat ...

**15. Worth It**

They came to a stop on the docks of Satellite, Yusei looking to Jack as he took off his helmet, searching his face for signs of disappointment. Jack's eyes were closed for a moment, but when he opened them they sparkled with the joy of a hard-fought battle.

"That duel was magnificent, Yusei! My soul is fired up! You're right, I don't want to forget our bonds after this."

"But you're set on leaving."

"You know that I've made my decision."

"You'll come back to duel me—"

"Of course, but I'll beat you next time!"

The tone of this conversation was far too cordial and impersonal.

"Jack, what about—"

But they heard a shout as Crow and Aki arrived with the twins and excited congratulations.

"Great duel!" shouted Crow, jumping off of his D-wheel and slapping Jack on the back.

"It could have been slightly better," Jack smiled.

"You had me on the ropes!" complained Yusei. "I needed way too much luck to win that one!"

"I wanted to win."

"Never mind that, you've inspired us. We've all made our decisions!" said Crow.

"Don't tell me," said Yusei. "You've all decided to leave and pursue your futures."

"Well, yeah. How—?"

"Come on, it was the only decision that really made any sense," Yusei said. "And after the way Jack dueled, well …" He just couldn't see how any of them wouldn't be inspired to claim their future.

"Oh, by the way, Crow, how much do I owe you?" Jack asked.

Crow pulled out a small book and showed Jack a figure. "Near as I can figure," he said.

"That much?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "OK."

He pulled out a check and wrote in the number, then handed it to Crow.

"What?" He scowled. "I should've added in interest …"

Yusei cocked an eyebrow at Jack.

He shrugged. "I already have sponsors and endorsements lined up."

It turned out that Jack had indeed inspired all of them to make their decisions as well—decisions that carried them away from Neo Domino City. Rua and Ruka would join their parents, Aki would go to medical school, and Crow to become a pro duelist as well.

They moved their celebration back to Poppo Time, where they ate dinner at last and talked over their plans. Afterward, they moved off into the living area and scattered about in repose.

Especially given his solidified ambition, Crow was anxious to dissect the duel with Jack and pump him for information about his training. He wanted to know where he'd been all this time and every detail about each and every duel he'd had during that time. That, and all about the Duel Ace league.

With the twins happy to listen in on that conversation, Aki drifted toward Yusei as he went to fetch more drinks for everyone.

"I think I'm beginning to see what it is between you two," she said softly. "Why your bond is so close."

"I—it's not like we don't all share bonds—"

"But with him … It used to be that I didn't get it. He's so … and you're … It's hard to understand why you two are even friends. But seeing you duel just now, it was obvious. He's so … He inspired everyone. He inspired _me_. I see why all those girls follow him like that now and … I'm jealous of him. I'll never be able to reach that part of you like he can … and if I stayed it would just make me crazy."

"Aki, Jack's leaving."

"Don't you see that doesn't matter? It doesn't matter whether he's here or on the moon. It doesn't matter if you never see him again. The fact that you know him and he means this much to you … I can't change that, and I can't be that."

"Aki …"

"Don't say you're sorry!"

"I should have said something sooner."

"We were never official or anything. It's not like you were my boyfriend."

"Martha thought—"

"Who cares what Martha thinks? She's going to hope for what she wants for you, what she thinks will make you happy, no matter what." She sighed. "Are you …" she grimaced, "together?"

"At this point I'm not sure."

"But you were."

"We … during the Nazca trip …"

"Figures. I wish you'd told me."

"I wanted to wait until after the WRGP, and, well …"

"He walked out?"

"It—it's not all Jack, Aki. I … after Bruno, I just didn't want to talk about anything, and—and then he walked out."

"You know, Jack's not going to do the talking. You need to talk to him, just like you talked to me. I don't understand why you need to make it so violent between you two. Can't you just talk to him? You make other people talk to you. With him, you wait two years and then have a major blow-up."

"Honestly, Aki, I did have to build a D-wheel to get to him."

"Well, don't make it that big of a deal. This time you had to duel him. You could send him an email. Why did Crow have to do it? You did say Crow was trying to contact him, didn't you? Shouldn't it have been you?"

"Yeah, I guess it should have been."

"Well, then, you're the rational one. Draw him out. You know he'll respond. You know he's got a good heart better than any of us."

"Yes, I do. Thanks, Aki." They had tarried a long time, but, fortunately, Crow had only scratched the surface of his quest and had Jack more or less pinned down in a major inquisition, which had him suitably annoyed. Rua looked fascinated and Ruka looked amused.

_That's going to keep him occupied for a while._

Yusei was a little saddened. He really wanted to talk to Jack alone. He looked back at Aki. "Aki …"

"Seriously, Yusei what do you—" she blurted, then stopped. _What do you really think of me?_ "No, never mind," she said, giving him a warm smile. "I'm going to med school and it doesn't matter. It's not like we won't be in touch."

"Of course not, Aki. Remember, I could never have defeated Z-One without your help."

She looked at him. He knew what she was thinking. Bruno. And Jack. She was thinking that they were so much more important to him, to his strength and his perseverance. But if he'd missed even one of his other friends, Jack's contribution wouldn't have been enough. But he knew no matter what he said, she wouldn't be convinced. She had worked so hard to learn how to turbo-duel so that the two of them could connect through the riding duel, and it was obvious. She had seen the duel. Dueling Jack moved him and connected the two of them in a way that she could never match.

"Thanks, Yusei," she said. "Thanks for everything."

And as she reluctantly pulled away, their eyes locked and held and her hand grazed over his. He'd made his decision, so why did this lingering moment taste so much of wistfulness and regret?

Why was this so hard?

He looked back toward Jack, who seemed to sense his gaze and turned his head to catch it. Crow and Rua were still engaging him in conversation, but he sensed that Jack wanted to speak with him. He walked back slowly, following Aki. She handed the twins a couple of sodas, distracting them from their conversation and Yusei handed Jack and Crow beers, extracting Jack.

"I really need to get home," said Aki, looking hard at Crow. "Do you mind, Ruka? Rua?"

Rua looked disappointed, but the two relented, and said their goodbyes. "You're not leaving right away, are you, Jack?"

"No, I need to find a place to store the things I can't get rid of and forward the things I need to my new base of operations."

"Base of operations?" echoed Rua.

Jack didn't reply directly to that, saying, "I'll see you again before I leave. I promise." Yusei realized he didn't consider this place where he was going a home. It was only temporary. He looked at him, relieved. Perhaps that meant that he would be back. Someday.

Crow was rubbing the back of his head. "Um … I guess I should leave too."

"So early?" asked Jack, surprised.

"Yeah, well, I need to get up early and get on the job," he said. "Some of us have to work, you know, Jack."

"Ha, ha, very funny."

"I want to see you before you leave."

"Not if I see you first."

"Now who's funny?" Crow asked, heading for his D-wheel.

Jack leaned back on the couch, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle, and took a sip of beer. "What was that? Crow didn't even touch his beer."

"I think that they knew I wanted to talk to you."

Jack lifted an eyebrow and said, "You want to talk to me?"

"Don't make a thing of it."

"Don't you think you deserve it a little?"

"Jack …" What he wanted was to skip the talk and … but they needed to get things straight before Jack left or they might end up just as badly off as they had been before the duel. He took a deep breath. "Jack, come on, you were going to cut things off completely. Not just from 5D's, but between us. That's what the duel was about. Don't tell me that it wasn't."

"Between us? What us? I tried to talk to you, Yusei, before I left to train, but you refused. I figured us was over."

"Jack … I told you I just needed time."

"That's not saying anything. You know what I hate most about you, Yusei? You give so hard to others … hell, you practically force it on people sometimes—"

"People meaning Jack Atlas—"

"—but you refuse to take anything back. You want to know everyone's feelings, but you won't say what you're thinking. So, fine. _Now_ you want to talk. Go ahead."

"Showing your magnanimity?"

_A king must be magnanimous._

"If that's how you want to put it. You _did_ win our duel."

Yusei smiled to himself, and said, "I'm not sure where to begin. One thing though … right after that last duel of the WRGP … you were …" Jack had been so subdued and quiet when everyone else had been so boisterous and joyful. "We never talked about the WRGP afterward, and you …"

Jack leaned back, frowning. "In the end, I couldn't help. I was useless. Watching you duel Z-One all by yourself—"

"What do you mean, you couldn't help? You gave me Red Demon's Dragon and your will! You should know what that means by now!" Yusei puffed out a short laugh. "I guess you don't. I guess you don't realize that without you, I never could have beaten Antimony, let alone Z-One. You're the main reason I got where I am … you're why I could beat _you_."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Both Antimony and Z-One anticipated my moves almost flawlessly, Jack. Antimony because he dueled using logic and Z-One because he patterned himself after me. I had to reach beyond myself to beat them, Jack … and, frankly, I reached for you. Your courage, your fire, your intuition, the risks you take. You make your own luck. You've always been my ideal as a duelist, Jack."

"But, Yusei, you've surpassed me. You've beaten me the last two duels we fought."

"Only because I learned from you." He smiled. "You know, if you ever finish evolving, you just might surpass me again."

"Depend on it," Jack affirmed. "But that Z-One? You don't really believe he was you like he said, do you?"

"He predicted my moves."

"Oh, please! You would never, _never_ have made a mockery of everything that someone stood for, his entire life, like Z-One did our fight in the WRGP to create the Circuit. You would never have modeled yourself on someone and then destroyed his life by creating something like Zero Reverse! Z-One promised that the Arc Cradle would vanish if you won but it didn't! Why do you think I have a hard time forgiving him even if he did save you in the end? It's hard to reconcile all that. The man had no honor whatsoever. He was _not_ you. As far as I'm concerned, he didn't resemble you at all. I don't care what Sherry says."

"But, Jack, he had me convinced. He overmatched me. I guess that's why I say I couldn't have done it without 5D's … You and my father. You remember when I was dueling Z-One and I fell?"

"How can I forget that? It was the one time during the duel that you had me worried, Yusei!" He paused. "Your father … You mentioned something about him during our duel. You never did say what that beam of light was. I was wondering whether it had something to do with the Crimson Dragon, but it felt different. You're saying it was your father?"

"That's right." He smiled to himself. "I almost gave up for a moment, Jack. I thought I couldn't do it, but he gave me a butt kicking—"

"Butt kicking—?"

"Well, a slap across the face. He reminded me what I was fighting for. He told me not to feel sorry for myself—exactly the things you would tell me, Jack." He shook his head. "I don't know how you do it. How is it that you always stay focused and never get low or feel sorry for yourself?"

"_Pft_. You don't know me very well, then, I guess. What do you think happened after you beat me, Yusei? I didn't know what to make of myself or what to do. I had to reassess everything. And then I saw you … seeing you kicking yourself over Kiryu, of all people, after beating me like that, I just—"

"You wanted to knock some sense into me."

"Yeah, well … But my point is, I was ready to chuck it all, but if I had I wouldn't have been there to help you fight Godwin."

"But Jack, you didn't do what you did because you didn't have faith in yourself. You believed your part was done. You'd saved Carly and you didn't want her to die alone. Is that so bad?"

"It … it wasn't what she would have wanted. I told myself I was thinking of her, but I was just thinking _for_ her. Trying to play the hero and taking an easy way out. But playing a hero and being one aren't exactly the same. I was just looking for a way to tell myself I was doing something noble while I was leaving my destiny unfulfilled." His violet eyes flashed with purpose. "So don't think I'm so much better. I let Godwin and Yliaster divert me from my path. I've finally reclaimed it."

"But Jack, you should know after that, that you can't just cut all your bonds in the effort to concentrate on your goal. I know that you want to pursue it single-mindedly—"

"Yusei, in my experience, girlfriends and friends tend to make demands—demands on one's time and emotional reserves. I need every bit of my being to focus on perfecting my duel."

"Jack, I understand that, but I don't see why you can't ask your friends to give you the space you need to do that. We can be patient … can't we? Won't you let us?"

Jack looked at him, considering. "I guess I have to. After all," he said, allowing a smile to play at the corners of his mouth, "I still have unfinished business with you. Until I beat you …"

Yusei wanted to hug him, but said, "I'll have something to say about that."

"We'll see. But Yusei, not all of this is about me. I tried to talk to you about what I wanted to do before I left, but you wouldn't say a word about what was bothering you. I thought we had agreed to try to be better about that, too. What about with Bruno? I mean, isn't he the one standing between us? It's the people who are gone who always stand in our way."

_Kiryu. Bruno._

Yusei stared at his beer for a minute. He couldn't very well deny it, could he? "It isn't that I'm in love with Bruno … or Kiryu either. It's just … grief. Guilt. Responsibility. You wouldn't—"

"Are you seriously going to tell me that I wouldn't understand? Do you think I have no feelings?!" Jack grabbed Yusei's shoulders, pressing his face in close. "Dammit, Yusei, do you think that I don't feel exactly the same things? I just … I can't stand still and wallow in feelings. If I care about those people, I have to transform all that into the will to carry on. I can't stand still, not for an instant. If their belief in me means anything, I have to work even harder to perfect myself. Can't you see that?"

"Jack …" Yusei's eyes widened. Did he honestly think that way? "I don't think most people see the world the way you do."

"That's their issue, not mine. But you call yourself my friend."

"Yes, you're right. I need to understand."

"And I—I don't get you. You say you feel responsible, but you must know you're not. You're not responsible for their decisions—their mistakes." He pushed Yusei away, his hands fisting spasmodically. Finally he reached for his beer. "Sometimes I just want to hit you, you're so frustrating."

"Jack, it's because of Zero Reverse that all this happened. Bruno—"

"So? Yusei, when will you understand that none of that is your doing? Bruno or Antimony, whoever he was, made his decision in the future … hah, now it never even happened! So how can you even grieve properly for a guy who never even really died? Fuck. We didn't even meet the real guy. And that guy hasn't even been _born_ yet! The one we knew won't _ever_ be made now, so who _was_ that, anyway?!" Jack scowled, looking disgusted, and drained his beer. "Gah! I can't even make sense of it, it's so messed up!" He turned to Yusei, violet eyes blazing with passion. "But just thinking about it makes me angry that you're wasting your time beating yourself up about it!"

Yusei suppressed a smile. _No use trying to explain to Jack about alternate realities … it will just confuse him even more._ "I guess I understand what you're getting at, but that doesn't change the fact that we knew a guy named Bruno, and—from my point of view—he was manipulated and used along with the rest of us. He sacrificed himself to make sure we got through this, Jack. And I couldn't help him."

"What were you supposed to do? Sacrifice the world and yourself along with it to save him?"

"No, but … am I supposed to be happy I couldn't find a way to save him?"

"Yusei … you've forced me to accept that I can't win every duel. For once, can't you just fucking accept you can't save everybody?"

_Was that really what I was doing?_

He stared at Jack.

"Yeah, Yusei. Newsflash. You're human."

"… And you left."

"I told you, Yusei. I can't sit around waiting forever for you to get out of your mood—especially when you won't let me help. I never made it a secret that I had other things that I was planning to do."

"But Jack, most people can change jobs and move to another town without discarding all their friends. You're avoiding talking about your bonds. It's like Crow said."

"Crow?"

"He said it's like you find bonds are too troublesome, or obstructive, or painful." Yusei pulled the empty beer bottle out of Jack's hand and put it on the coffee table. Then, taking Jack's hands in his, he looked him in the eyes. "Jack, is what we have … painful?"

Jack squeezed the hands in his, looking down at them for a moment, then met Yusei's gaze seriously. "Sometimes," he admitted. "What I need to do can't be achieved without sacrifice, Yusei. Even if I'm completely on my own, it won't be easy, but with you …" He pulled Yusei in a little roughly and held him tightly. "When we're together and I have to spend time away from you, it's so difficult. It's more difficult than I can describe."

"But Jack—"

"I know, I promised. I can't break our bond now, and—" Jack closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against Yusei's, "—I don't want to anymore. Damn it, Yusei, you've conquered me." He pushed Yusei back so that he could look at him. "But don't think that means you're off the hook. I still plan to beat you."

"Dream on, Jack," Yusei murmured, pushing in again and leaning against Jack's broad chest. It was so good to have him back. Suddenly he reached up and kissed Jack passionately.

"What's that for?"

"I haven't properly thanked you yet. Thanks, Jack. Your conviction that I couldn't fail made all the difference to me. Your belief in our future."

"Hmph! I just won't allow you to lose to anyone until you lose to me, Yusei."

"Arrogant bastard."

He shrugged.

"You know what I think, Jack?" Yusei asked. "I think you feel your bonds so acutely that sometimes you feel like they're strangling you. I think you're actually a big marshmallow inside. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone." He began to stroke Jack's hair gently, then run his fingers over his pale skin. "Jack, I'm not asking you to change your plans or who you are just because I want you to maintain your bond with me. But I won't allow you to break that bond. And if you think that you need to break that bond to gain the independence to duel, you'll never beat me. I won't let you."

Yusei looked seriously into Jack's eyes with that, trying to bore into his soul with them to drive his point home.

_You're stuck with me, Atlas. You can try to get rid of me, you can walk away from me, but no matter what, I'll always love you._

"Why is this friendship thing so important to you?"

"With you it will always be more than friendship and you know it, but if friendship is all I can have, I'll take it."

"Then why … why didn't you want to …?"

Yusei looked down momentarily. "Even though we saved everyone, it was hard. We lost Antimony, and … Aporia and even Z-One. They were only trying to save their world, just like us. It was hard to see it as a victory."

"Yusei," Jack said, softening his voice. "If you say you love me, you have to show it. Somehow."

Yusei stared at him. "You—You're right. I should trust you."

Jack closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and said, "So … what do you want?"

"What do you mean?"

"You won our duel, Yusei. We didn't really have an ante, so …"

"I thought that having you retain your bonds was the ante."

"No, we were dueling to hash that out, Yusei. To decide who was right about that, and to decide your future."

"Oh, I see."

"So I ask again, what can I do for you?"

Yusei smiled. "Now you're talking."

"Hey, I wanted to do something about this situation right after our victory in the WRGP, but noooo, someone had to go save the world or something."

"Don't rub it in."

"Really? Are you sure about that?"

"Jack …"

Jack laughed and pulled Yusei's hands up and around his neck. Then he picked Yusei up. "Enough talk already! I have a lot of ideas about how we should catch up. Starting with a shower."

Yusei didn't resist, instead leaning in to steal another kiss. "Oh, by the way, Crow knows about us now."

"About time. I am so tired of sneaking around! Was he as disappointed as you thought he'd be?"

"Er …"

"It's all right. You don't have to tell me."

"Why are you stopping?" Jack had leaned him gently against the wall partly up the stairs.

But Jack was already nuzzling Yusei's neck along the collarbone. Slowly, he let Yusei down. They took their time walking to the bathroom.

* * *

**Author's notes ...**

I apologize for the talkiness of this chapter, but these two seemed to have a lot to talk out and I seemed to need to let them. Hopefully the result wasn't _too_ boring. ;)

_Reviews and update (?)_: Thanks once again to my reviewers for all the kind comments! MrMyshka, I hope that I can wind this story up nicely and not disappoint you with the ending! It makes me so glad that you like Satisfaction/WTF so much. (And, yes, I do get a laugh out of abbreviating the title ...) KizunaTsudoishi and KaiFudo16, I'm glad that the duel was enjoyable. I certainly sweated over it! I do think it was a significant improvement over the original! :) , thanks so much for the thoughtful review! Although, I feel a little sad if I really have spoiled you for a lot of other stories featuring Jack! (Though it is really flattering to think that readers think I've got him so right!) I chose to feature Jack's duel with Bommer because it ties back to Nazca and Satisfaction, but you're right, it would be rather interesting to depict Jack's duel with Kiryu, wouldn't it? Darn, now you've got me thinking ... maybe I'll go back and see whether it would fit in ... I'll PM you if I decide to revise it & make changes. I don't often change things, but there are exceptions (I hated my epilogue for Pride and entirely rewrote it, for example), so it's not like I refuse to change anything (especially errors!). No promises, but I'll think about it because you've given me some ideas. ;) If anyone else reading this story would like to know if I update that chapter, feel free to either PM me or let me know in a review.

The conversation between Yusei and Aki is based on the one at the end of the series, and I tried to give it a similar feel. Of course, this one has a bit of a different twist. ;)

_Yusei's sentiments regarding Jack's contributions_: Looking back over the duels, I noticed that in Antimony's and Z-One's duels particularly it was pointed out that Yusei was supposed to be at a disadvantage because a) Antimony dueled logically like Yusei and could therefore predict his moves and b) Z-One went even farther and patterned his mind after Yusei and so could predict his moves. Therefore, Yusei had to draw on the strengths of others to prevail. I would assume that chief among those others would be Jack because he duels from the heart with a courage, confidence, and drive to win that so inspires Yusei.

_Jack's comments regarding Z-One_: Something I think Jack would feel and also something that was not really touched on directly that I thought was an interesting aspect of the series.

Preview ...

_Yusei stared at his phone. Call, dammit!_

_Crow swept up kernels and looked at Yusei. "He's got interviews, Yusei. He'll call as soon as he gets a moment."_

... the unforgettable fire ...

Sigh. One more chapter to go and I'll be wrapping up this story at last.


	16. The Enduring Flame

warnings: profanity (yes, again), indirect spoiler

**16. The Enduring Flame**

Yusei and Crow sat on the couch in Poppo Time, watching the big championship matchup. Yusei _knew_ Jack would win, but he still felt a thrill of anxiety because this meant so much to him. The alternative was unthinkable.

Next to him, Crow was chattering away. "I don't like this score."

"Don't worry."

"Why does Jack always do this? He's dug himself a hole. I think he did that unnecessarily."

"I don't think so, Crow. He only does things like that when he's trying to goad a challenge out of his opponent. I ought to know."

"I guess."

Yusei was glad of Crow's chatter. It helped him concentrate on the duel, something that had been harder and harder for him to do the longer Jack had been away. It was all too easy to remember the thrill of dueling Jack himself and feeling more than a little jealous of his opponents.

Not that he was at all tempted to join Duel Ace himself; he'd already turned down his own offer. But watching Jack duel was starting to remind him just how much he missed him—in every way.

As he watched, he couldn't help but think back to the first time he'd seen Jack in a riding duel, the first time he'd ever seen the Wheel of Fortune. He'd been trapped in Satellite then, building his D-wheel. He'd been so angry. Angry at Jack for leaving, for betraying them, taking all their hope, but most of all, for betraying himself, his own integrity. But also, Yusei had been angry at himself because he knew, deep down inside, he could never completely let go. If he could, then why did he build the D-wheel? Why did he need to challenge Jack? He'd told himself it was Stardust, it was revenge, but that was just so he didn't have to tell himself the truth.

A huge roar erupted from the crowd.

"There it is!" Crow cheered. "Scar Red Nova Dragon!"

Yusei found himself on his feet, watching as Jack's opponent threw everything he could at Jack only to find himself completely overpowered.

_Oh, yeah!_

"_Yes!_" yelled Crow, throwing his popcorn into the air.

Yusei interrupted his cheering just long enough to say, "You're cleaning that up, Crow."

"Just be thankful it wasn't my coffee, Yusei."

They heard a ring tone. Yusei answered his phone. "Hi Rua … yes, Crow's here. Uh huh. Of course we're watching! Do you think I would miss that?! … Of course … Yes, he was great as always … Yeah, that was impressive! … Try to get some sleep. … Ha ha, no, it's early morning here, Rua. … I will. Bye, Rua."

Yusei stared at his phone. _Call, dammit!_

Crow swept up kernels and looked at Yusei. "He's got interviews, Yusei. He'll call as soon as he gets a moment."

"I know." But Yusei was on tenterhooks all the same. Another ring tone. "I'll bet that's Aki. Hello? … Hi Aki. … Yeah, he was great, wasn't he? … I don't know, I haven't heard from him yet. We hadn't made any plans, you know. … It's really nice of you to ask … Thanks, Aki. Talk to you later."

Crow laughed. "I've got to hand it to her. She's trying so hard to be supportive."

Yusei sighed. "Yeah."

"You can't make everyone happy, you know, Yusei."

"I know …" Yusei looked at Crow, thinking he had to be at least a little disappointed about Jack. No matter how little hope he had for any future with him, could he have gotten over it so easily? Yusei knew _he_ couldn't have.

"Look there, Jack's interview," Crow said.

Yusei had trouble paying attention to what Jack was saying because he was scrutinizing every detail of his voice, his expression, his riding jumpsuit, his hair … Had anything changed? Was there any sign that he missed them?

The signal blipped over to an ad and Crow said, "Don't worry, Yusei, he misses you for sure."

"What are you talking about? I was listening to what he had to say about the duel."

"Oh yeah? What did he say, then?"

"Oh, uhm, he—"

Another ring tone. _Thank goodness_.

"Hold that thought," said Yusei. "Hello? … Jack! … Of course! … You were magnificent, as always. And you looked great. Better than ever. … You won't? … You—you are? … That sounds great, Jack. … Are you kidding? Yes. … I'll _make_ time. … And congratulations, Jack. You've achieved it at last!"

"What was that?"

"He's coming here, Crow! Two glorious weeks! And then … I've agreed to accompany him on his European publicity tour."

"Well, it's about time you took a vacation."

"We're going to London to visit Ruka and Rua and then Paris, Rome … and a nice stay on a Mediterranean island somewhere away from fans." Yusei sighed. "He's promised to take a little break."

"Him too?"

"Yep. He won't be forced to defend his title immediately. That's standard, plus the league wants to tell the 5D's story."

"Good publicity angle, huh?"

"Yeah."

Yusei took a sip of his coffee and wondered whether he wanted to discuss this with Crow. But if not Crow, then who? "Uh, Crow? Remember when Z-One said that Yliaster was responsible for Zero Reverse?"

"Yeah."

"That means that they started the whole Signer thing—started it in Neo Domino City, right?"

"Uh, I guess. It was Zero Reverse that awakened set everything in motion. That's what Godwin said. What—"

"So Yliaster is why the Signs manifested and … it's why—do you think it might be why the soul of the First Signer was called here?"

"The First Signer? What are you talking about?"

Yusei laughed. "I guess I never told you, did I? When we went to Nazca and Jack fought Scar Red Nova, Bommer told me the legend of the First Signer who sealed him in the first place—the ancestor of all the Signers. I'm certain it's Jack, Crow. But do you think that Jack would even be the same person if it weren't for Yliaster and Zero Reverse?"

"You mean—?"

"I'm asking whether you think that these events called the soul of the First Signer to help us."

"I can't answer that kind of question. It's just too … weird. And, honestly Yusei, I never thought you were the metaphysical type anyway."

"Yeah, but what I'm saying is—" he frowned, trying to pull his thoughts together. "If his soul was, uh, called here, by events Yliaster put in motion, then—"

"God, Yusei, you're not feeling guilty for loving Jack, are you?!" He raised his arm, hesitated, then satisfied himself by giving Yusei a good swat on the shoulder. "I _should_ punch you out. First of all, Momentum is what got Yliaster started and apparently changing history couldn't stop it from happening. And even if the events leading up to Zero Reverse called Jack and first Signer activity here, it's on Yliaster. Maybe they should have dropped you a telegram through time instead of trying to destroy Neo Domino City, but they didn't think about that. They didn't even consider that Momentum could be insulated from interactions with emotions." Crow grabbed Yusei to make sure that they were eye to eye. "I swear, Yusei, if I ever have an inkling that you're feeling guilty that Jack's even here, let alone with you, I'll—"

"No, Crow, I … I promise. I swear I won't let this get to me. You know how I overthink things."

"I'll say! This takes the cake." He settled back. "First Signer? Damn it, Yusei, I knew I should have taken that trip to Nazca with you two …!"

Yusei chuckled. "You know you couldn't have stopped worrying about the budget the whole way."

"Maybe … Even if you tell him about that First Signer stuff, don't ever tell him about your theory about him being 'called' by what Yliaster did with Zero Reverse, OK? He hates that crap in the first place and he doesn't need to brood about this sort of stuff."

"Yeah, that's for sure."

"And don't monopolize him while he's here, huh? I want to get a duel in and I'm sure Kazama will too."

* * *

Yusei could not concentrate. He'd taken the day off because he was completely worthless at work. He found himself attempting to clean house.

As he wiped his sparkling windows for the fifteenth time, he saw it: the Wheel of Fortune! Yusei smiled. It must be great to have the funds to ship that everywhere now.

"Jack—!"

Jack leapt off the machine, took off his helmet, shook out his hair, and strode over. Yusei practically ran, throwing himself at Jack's shoulders. Jack wrapped his arms around Yusei, accepting his embrace. Yusei ran his fingers into Jack's hair, pulling his head down and kissing him deeply, trying to suppress his satisfied moan.

"I see you didn't miss me at all," Jack commented.

"Not at all, King of the world."

"You may address me as 'Your Highness.'"

"You haven't let it go to your head yet?"

"Of course not. But congratulations yourself. Didn't you just win some sort of grant or prize for your work on Momentum?"

"Oh, right. My paper on the interaction between the mind and Momentum, and measures to insulate the Momentum reactor from the effects of the human psyche. You actually know about that?"

"I'm focused, but I occasionally think about things other than dueling. But I wouldn't have thought those Momentum effects could be quantified, let alone put into some sort of paper."

"If I couldn't do that, I couldn't have created a security program for Momentum, Jack."

"Whatever. It's amazing and I'm incredibly proud of you. You're so important to this city. Worthy." He sighed, sliding his hands lower, lifting Yusei and placing his lips next to his ear. "Ah, Yusei, how I've waited for this …!" He moved toward the stairs.

"What, no preliminaries?"

"Next time. It's not like you seem reluctant."

"Honestly, Jack, I can barely stand it. You don't know what it does to me when I watch you duel. It makes me feel so … alive."

Jack nuzzled the nape of his neck and chuckled softly against it. "'Alive'? I was guessing something else."

Yusei blushed.

* * *

Later, Yusei lay in bed, half asleep, watching Jack out of a half-closed eye. Jack was paging through a copy of _Duel_ magazine that he found on Yusei's nightstand.

He could almost see it. Not the first time he'd ever seen him—then he'd had his nose in a pack of duel monsters cards—but later on that day, standing on a ruined wall, hair shining in the sunlight, looking toward Neo Domino City as though it were already within his reach.

_I wonder … _

_And now_, he thought, smiling to himself.

_Jack finally made it. King of the world. When he beats me … _

Yusei wondered vaguely if Jack would tire of him if he beat him. _Eh, probably not, _he thought._ After all, who else would be able to beat me?_

Then Yusei wondered if Jack would ever want to settle down. "Hey, Jack?"

"Yusei? I thought you were asleep," he said. He placed a warm hand on Yusei's shoulder.

"Do you think …? No, never mind."

"What?"

"Not important. I was just thinking about the future."

"You always do. Sure you don't want to ask?"

"Yep. I'll ask you later."

"Whatever." Jack got up, walked over to Yusei's bureau, and pulled open a drawer. "Yusei, my bags are being sent and should be along tomorrow. You don't happen to have an extra pair of boxers that might fit me, do—What's this?"

Yusei looked up to find Jack holding a black sleeveless t-shirt with his eyebrow cocked.

Yusei blushed. "Uhm … I found that when you were—"

"You 'found' it? Where? In my bureau drawer maybe? I know all my stuff was washed and put away when I left."

"Crap. You got me. I missed you, Jack. I just needed—Fuck, it smelled like you, OK?" He sighed. "That's pretty much all worn off now. All your stuff is gone."

Jack laughed. "You really do have a scent fetish, don't you? OK. I'll just have to leave you with something of mine before I go back this time."

"Don't do me any favors," Yusei said sullenly.

"Oh, come on," Jack said, moving back toward the bed and sitting down next to Yusei. "We're maintaining our bond, aren't we?"

"It's not exactly the easiest relationship, you know," Yusei said, pulling himself up into a sitting position. "Weekends now and then, calls, email."

"Va-ca-tions."

Yusei smiled. "Well, I have to admit, this is an improvement."

"You wouldn't like it if I hung around here and became a bum, would you?"

"No … You're better when you're amazing, Jack. I guess I always knew that, sooner or later, you'd leave."

"You're pretty amazing yourself. Only someone exceptional is worthy of the King."

"Jack …" Yusei began, then stopped and kissed him softly. "Forget it. It doesn't matter. I love you no matter what."

_I'll love you forever_.

Yusei felt like he should chide Jack for his arrogance, but in a way, he was right, wasn't he?

Jack was remarkable.

He made it all, the waiting, the wishing, the frustration … all of it …

He made everything worthwhile.

He lit Yusei's heart on fire.

_~ Finis ~_

* * *

**Author's notes ...**

Guys, hope you had a great Valentine's Day!

Reviews from last time: Thanks so much, as always, for reviewing! Haha, a baseball uniform fetish? They can be rather becoming, can't they? (It's not as though I didn't already have one when I started writing the piece ... ;) ) I'm really glad that the part with Akiza worked out because I liked the "feel" of it. I got a "drifting apart" thing from the anime and tried to parallel that here, including Akiza's recognition of it.

Well, this is the end of the sequel to _Satisfaction_. I hope you enjoyed it. :) Writing _Satisfaction_ (especially) and this story has been very rewarding and it's a little sad to let this version of these characters go. However, all good things must come to an end. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

Notes:

_the first time he'd seen Jack in a riding duel_: Dramatized in _Satisfaction_, chapter 26.

_Try to get some sleep_: I calculated the time of the duel so that it was early afternoon in Los Angeles (my imagined location), which would make it late evening in London and early morning in Japan.

_the soul of the First Signer_: Would the soul of the First Signer have been there without Yliaster getting involved? You make the call. ;)

_an extra pair of boxers_: You'd think he'd have brought a couple in the Wheel of Fortune at least ... oh, well.

_standing on a ruined wall_: Dramatized in Satisfaction, chapter 1.

I figure sometime, way out in the future, Jack beats Yusei again, but I'll let you decide that for yourself. If you think Yusei should always be the winner or if it should go back and forth, those are both valid viewpoints and I want to leave this story open to both of them. I personally like idea that it comes back full circle to where Jack beats Yusei when he realizes he is at peace with his bonds and no longer struggles against them.

As always, I want to thank everyone who favorited and/or followed this story, and especially to everyone who reviewed. You are all awesome! Every review is a great motivator to me and reading each one has been like opening up a little Valentine. :)

It might be a little while before I post my next 5D's story. I have several in various stages of completion from idea to several thousand words, but the one that I've been working hardest on looks like it will be on the longish side and I need to finish (or nearly finish) it before I can start posting. I expect to post something for DM before that one is complete. Anyway, enough for updates. ;)

Note: I am thinking of writing a little story about Yusei, Jack & Crow as kids - is that something you'd like to see? Let me know.

Until next time, happy reading!

~DD


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